•Sprinters who missed out on the relay team to Silesia, Poland still have a chance to make the team for other international events.
•Team manager Kennedy Tanui says most of the sprinters have improved on their speedwork and are hitting faster times than before.
•The team will once again enter camp next week to begin preparations for other qualification events for Tokyo Olympics.
Sprinters who missed out on the final squad to the World Relay Championships in Silesia, Poland have been urged to keep training hard to secure their places in subsequent relay teams.
Team manager Kennedy Tanui said plans are in place to perfect the teams in respective relay races and that those who missed out on the squad may still be considered.
"There is still space on the team for them. You know relays are not about one team but teams. We are looking to not only create one team but four teams that will represent us in different events," Tanui said.
"Also, athletics is a dynamic sport; at one time an athlete is at his peak performance and the next day his performance dips and vice versa. So to those who missed out, if your performance improves, you will be definitely considered."
He pointed out that the 36 athletes selected to do duty in the seaside city on May 1-2 were selected on merit and after meticulous evaluation of each athlete who was in the bubble training camp at Moi Stadium, Kasarani.
"We selected the best of the best; no one was left out including those who were outside the camp like Emmanuel Korir. There was no way we could do trials considering the whole country was on lockdown. Even then, we conducted mini-trials within the camp where the best competed before we came up with the best of the best after evaluating their performances," he said.
Tanui was speaking at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Tuesday morning after leading the team from Silesia where they claimed two silver and one bronze medals.
Despite their commendable performance, Tanui bemoaned the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the team's preparations, including three athletes who tested positive for the virus.
"The problem is that five of our athletes were affected by the virus, otherwise we would have posted faster times all round. The 4x400m was affected when Korir could not travel from his United States base because of Covid-19 restrictions. Likewise, Emmanuel Mutua who has just been recruited by GSU could not join the team," he said.
Nonetheless, he saluted all athletes for the tremendous progress they have shown in training and on the tracks.
"With the 4x400m team, we started from scratch this year with the basics, such as baton exchange, handling and change-over. Now, we only need to perfect on these by providing them with qualification events to give them confidence in an international setting. Speedwork has improved as most of them are hitting faster times now than before," Tanui said.
The team will congregate in camp next week in preparation for more qualification events for Tokyo Olympics including the Senior Africa Athletics Championships in June in Algiers, Algeria.