•Refugees, Kenya Wildlife Service and NYS invited for the three-day championship
•The first three athletes across the line will qualify for the World Championships slated for Doha, Qatar
Image: ERICK BARASA
National-cum-Word Championships trials return to Nyayo National Stadium on August 20-22, according to Athletics Kenya.
This will be the first time after years hiatus, Nyayo will host the three-day championships. While making the announcement yesterday, AK President Lt Gen (Rtd) Jack Tuwei said they had earlier plans to hold the trials in Eldoret but the Kipchoge Keino Stadium is not ready.
“Yes we had plans to have it in Eldoret but the Kipchoge Keino Stadium is not conducive for the magnitude of this event. We have only two tartan tracks at Moi Stadium, Kasarani and Nyayo and we have opted to go for the latter,” he said. Tuwei said they have already inspected Nyayo Stadium and despite the ongoing refurbishment works, he is confident it will be ready to host the trials.
“There are some areas which are not complete but I am sure come mid next month, everything will be in place for us to have the event,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Tuwei said there will be no individual athlete who will be entered for the trials. He said athletes coming for the trials will have no choice but to compete through their respective teams, regions and institutions. He said besides the 12 regions and four affiliates, refugees, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and National Youth Service have been invited for the three-day championships.
“We will not allow individual entries as due process has to be followed to the letter and athletes have to come through their respective regions or affiliate,” he added.
He announced that the first three athletes across the line during the national trials will represent Team Kenya at the World Championships in Doha in September. Tuwei said they hope to send a squad of 50- 60 athletes to the global extravaganza. Diamond League winners from 2018 have gained automatic qualification for the world event. They include Conseslus Kipruto, who is also the World 3,000m steeplechase champion, Emmanuel Korir (800m), Timothy Cheruiyot (1,500m), World 5,000m Hellen Obiri and Beatrice Chepkoech (3,000m steeplechase).
He also announced stringent doping procedures in the run-up the championship. “Athletes must fulfil requirements of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU ), which include three out of competition dope tests and the same number of in-competition doping tests before the selection date. Tuwei asked managers and coaches to check with their athletes to ensure they have complied with the anti-doping conditions.
“We are very serious with the war against doping as Athletics Kenya and we will not relent. We would rather send a small team with athletes who have fulfilled the AIU requirements than a big team which will give us problems at the championship,” he added.