Beatrice Chebet, Agnes Ng'etich and Janeth Chepng'etich celebrate after making the women's 10,000m team to Tokyo/ TEDDY MULEI
Ulinzi Sports Complex burst into life at the crack of dawn on Tuesday, as Kenya’s top track and field stars battled for coveted tickets to the Tokyo World Championships, set for September.
With the stakes sky-high, only the top two finishers in each event, provided they met both the Tokyo qualification standards and stringent anti-doping criteria, earned automatic berths to the global showpiece. A third athlete per event was selected by a technical panel.
Spectators turned out in their numbers to witness world-class competition, accompanied by rhythmic drumming and vocal cheering squads that transformed the venue into a carnival of athletics. Despite chilly morning conditions, the men’s 20km race walk got the trials underway at 7 am. However, none of the contenders managed to meet the stiff Tokyo standard of 1:19:20.
Veteran race walker Samuel Gathimba claimed top honours in 1:23:57, ahead of Stephen Ndangiri (1:26:27) and Dominic Mwenda (1:31:19). The women's 10,000m followed with the headline act of the race being women's World record holder Beatrice Chebet.
Edmund Serem, after winning the 3000m steeplechase/ TEDDY MULEI Chebet came into the race in red-hot form after a strong display at the Prefontaine Classic, where she obliterated the women's 5,000m, clocking 13:58.06, the only woman to dip under 14 minutes. The formidable trio of Janeth Chepngetich, Agnes Ngetich and double Olympic champion Chebet secured their slots for the Tokyo showdown.
Chepng'etich laid down a statement of intent at the national trials on Tuesday morning, storming to victory in 30:27.0 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex. Ng'etich pushed her all the way to clock 30:27.4, while Chebet sealed the final automatic slot with 30:27.5 in a thrilling blanket finish. The trio vowed to claim the World Championship podium over the 25-lap race.
An elated Chepng'etich admitted she hadn’t expected to clinch the win as her primary target was to book a ticket to Tokyo. "I am so happy that I was able to qualify for Tokyo and also win the race today."
"I did not expect to win, but I decided to run my race. My target was making the team," Chepngetich said. With her spot secured, Chepng'etich now sets her sights on sharpening her speed ahead of the global showdown.
“My focus now is to work on my finishing speed before Tokyo. We believe as a team we can sweep the podium.”
Ng'etich echoed the sentiment, underscoring the importance of a lethal finishing kick in championship racing. "I will be focusing more on speed because at the World Championships you have to have a finishing kick in the final 200m," Ng'etich said.
Chebet was pleased with running on home soil after dominant displays in international races. "The race was good. Running on the home soil was good for me," Chebet said. She was pleased running with Ng'etich and Chepng'etich. "Running alongside Agnes and Janeth was amazing."
The race was a precursor of how the trio will team up in Tokyo. "Today we were running as a team to see how we will team up in Tokyo to bring medals home."
"The team is really good. Having Agnes and Jeneth will be good. I promise Kenyans that we will bring back medals and good results," she added.
In the women's 1,500m, Nelly Chepchirchir laid down the marker with a strong display, cruising to victory in 4:05.09. Susan Ejore followed in second place, clocking 4:05.24 with Dorcas Ewoi placing third in 4:08.08. Chepchirchir noted that her target was to secure her place in Kenya's team to Tokyo during the trials. "I was coming here to fight for my position because I already had the time."
With Tokyo looming, Chepchirchir is hoping to sharpen her speed. "I want to focus more on my speed because I have seen I don't have that sharp speed," she noted.
After making her maiden appearance for team Kenya during the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France, Ejore was pleased with a second chance to don team Kenya colours.
"I am so happy to make team Kenya once again. I am also happy for this opportunity. It's always a joy to represent Kenya," Ejore said. Just like Chepchirchir, Ejore was hoping to fight for a top two finish to ensure her place in the Kenyan team.
"I expected to execute a perfect race plan and get positions one or two. I had the time, so I was coming to fight for the position," she said. Ejore believes she has had sufficient buildup throughout the season. "My season was good, I have had a good build-up which is key as we go into Tokyo," she added.
The men's event saw a fiercely contested battle, where Reynold Cheruiyot (3:48.96), Timothy Cheruiyot (3:49.07) and Brian Komen (3:49.11) claimed the podium places.
Olympic 3,000m bronze medallist Faith Cherotich extended her flying form to the season by storming to a 9:09.44 finish ahead of Doris Lemngole (9:24.69) and Caren Chebet (9:34.91). Cherotich is now plotting for gold in Tokyo after a strong display at the trials. "I am planning to go sit with my coach and strategise on how I will bring a medal back from Tokyo."
"It will be tough, but I will prepare and go into the race with confidence," she said. She was pleased to have run sub 9:10 for the first time on home turf. "I have never run in Kenya under 9:10, so I am very proud. I ran the race alone because I was pushing myself all the way."
In other races, Edmund Serem won the men's 3,000m steeplechase in 8:38.91 ahead of Simon Koech (8:39.97) and Abraham Kibiwot (8:43.90). Lilian Odira stormed to victory in the women's 800m, clocking 2:13.85 with Vivian Chebet (2:14.05) and Sarah Moraa (2:14.32) completing the podium.
With trials coming to an end, AK named a formidable squad of 58 athletes for the global showpiece set for September.
AK President Jackson Tuwei noted that they were pleased with the selected squad. He said after years of struggle to have representatives in the relay teams, this year three teams (4x100m men, 4x400m men and the 4x400m mixed relay) booked their slots for Tokyo. "We are happy that after a long while we have qualified athletes for the relays in three teams."
He hopes the women's 4x400m team will punch their tickets to the global show before the August 24 deadline.
"We are waiting for only one team to qualify so we can have all four of our teams in Tokyo, and we are confident they will be able to qualify."
Tuwei noted that the real work begins now with eyes on a bumper harvest of medals in Tokyo. "We now embark on the actual preparations for the team to Tokyo."
