A niggling hamstring injury may rule out world 1,500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot from tomorrow's Kip Keino Classic.
Middle distance athletics coach Bernard Ouma said Cheruiyot will undergo a late fitness test to see if he is fully fit to participate in the Nairobi leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold.
"In Doha, he tried to do some speedwork but apparently suffered an injury in the warm-up area. His performance on Saturday will be subject to the treatment he has been undergoing and the healing process," Ouma says.
The coach remains confident that the three-time Diamond League winner will scale greater heights should he be declared fit for the meet.
"The nigglings are common to every athlete. If he was 100 per cent fit, he would have really run some fast times," Ouma said.
He also expects Kenyans to benefit from the home ground advantage regardless of the effects of Covid-19 restrictions on athletes' training and fitness levels.
"Nyayo Stadium is somewhere we are used to competing and training. I don't expect many of the athletes to have difficulties adapting to the climate except for those from low altitude areas," he said.
At the Cambridge International School, Nairobi, where he has been overseeing the training sessions, Ouma was busy putting the athletes on their final touches on Thursday afternoon.
"Today was not about training per se but more like packing for a safari. Today, we were just checking if everything is set. And from the looks of it, we are all good to go," he said.
The coach further said that the absence of the Ingebrigsten brothers from Norway will not water down the quality of the competition in the three-lap race.
"Participation in these kind of events are usually an individual decision and based on self-management. Everyone has the discretion to choose which race to run. And we need to race conservatively because after all, we are not battling for any title," he observed.
At Nyayo Stadium, Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei said, it is all systems go for Saturday's event.
"We have trained our athletes well and they are all ready for the event. We have also put the match officials on a refresher course because it has been a long time since they last officiated," Tuwei said.
He called on Kenyans' support in their numbers from their respective locations despite the limited number of spectators who will be allowed in the stadium.
"We need all Kenyans to enjoy this event. We want to make it a memorable event because we are the only African country hosting this kind of event," Tuwei said.
