Athletics Kenya (AK) have selected 19 athletes for the Penn State relays this weekend in USA.
Team Kenya is returning to the event after a three-year absence. The country's 4x 400m (men and women) are seeking to attain the qualifying times for the World Relay Championships in Yokohama next month as well as the World Athletic Championships in Doha, Qatar in September.
Kenya's hopes of having a team in the 4x400m event in Yokohama and Doha was thwarted despite clocking a championship record of 3:00.92 when winning at the Africa Championships in Asaba, Nigeria last year. The IAAF failed to ratify the time since the track in Asaba wasn’t certified.
Former national champions Aaron Koech, Alphas Kishoyian, Collins Omae, former national junior champion Alex Sampao and Jared Momanyi make the men's 4x400m team.
National 400m champion Maximilla Imali spearheads the women’s 4x400m team, that also has newly crowned Africa Under-20 400m champion Mary Moraa, Maureen Thomas, Joan Cherono, Gladys Nthenya and Veronica Mutua.
Former national 100m champion and record holder Mike Mokamba, Michael Ngugi, Walter Moenga, Stephen Barasa and Elijah Onkware make the men’s 4x100m.
The African Games 100m silver medallist Eunice Kadogo, Freshia Mwangi, Evangeline Makena and Diana Chebet form the women’s 4x100m team.
Athletics Kenya executive committee member, Barnaba Korir, said the event in the USA presents an ideal opportunity to test themselves against the best in the world this weekend.
"The relays will be competitive. Our boys and girls will be up against the best relays teams from the USA and the Caribbean and it will be good exposure for them,” added Korir.
Korir added that the country will be represented by five athletes in the Mauritius international meeting slated for this weekend.
National javelin champion Demacline Nyakeruri will team up with sprinters Hellen Syombua (400m), Ferdinand Omanyala (100m) and decathletes Vincent Tarus and Gilbert Koech.
