•Majority of the country's Olympic medals have come from the track and field events and it is expected to be no different this time round.
•Hellen Obiri, Rodgers Kwemoi, Eunice Sum and Mary Moraa are some of the notable names in action.
•Also competing on Friday will be national record holder Matthew Sawe in the men's high jump.
Image: ERICK BARASA
After a disappointing week for the country, Team Kenya will be hoping for better fortunes as the athletics programme at the Tokyo Olympics commences on Friday.
Majority of the country's Olympic medals have come from track and field events and it is expected to be no different this time round after Kenya's poor showing in boxing, taekwondo, rugby Sevens, beach volleyball and indoor volleyball.
World 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri, national cross country champion Rodgers Kwemoi, former 800m world champion Eunice Sum and national 400m champion Mary Moraa are some of the notable names in action today.
The first event will be the men's 3,000m steeplechase heats during which World Under 18 champion Leonard Bett, Commonwealth silver medalist Abraham Kibiwott and African champion Benjamin Kigen will be seeking to maintain Kenya's 53-year dominance in the race.
The absence of defending champion Conseslus Kipruto has only served to up the pressure on the trio as their Ethiopian and Moroccan rivals sense there is no better time to dislodge Kenya from the throne.
Nonetheless, Kigen is exuding positive vibes, choosing not to focus on the magnitude of the task ahead.
"I don’t fear anybody and I don’t fear running my race at all until we run on that day. That is when I will know who is who in the race. The race will always start with an extended line but it ends with a single man and I want it when it ends with a single man, I want to be the first one at the crossing line,” Kigen said.
This is easier said than done considering the start list includes Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali and Ethiopian Lamecha Girma, who have been a thorn in the flesh in recent times.
Bakkali boasts a personal best of 7:58.15 — the fastest among all other competitors — whereas Girma timed 8:07.75 in his last race at the Monaco Diamond League — the fastest time in steeplechase this year.
In the women's 5,000m, Obiri has made no secret of her desire to add an Olympic gold to her medal collection.
She will be in action at 1:00 pm (Kenyan time) alongside world 10,000m bronze medallist Agnes Tirop and former world cross country bronze medallist Lilian Kasait as the 12-and-a-half lap race begins with heats.
“The Tokyo Games are special for me since Olympic gold is the only medal I am missing in my career. I am really working extra hard to get it,” Obiri said.
The trio will be part of a mouthwatering cast in the women's 5,000m including Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay (with a world lead of 14:13.32) and world champion Sifan Hassan.
With defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot missing in action, the onus is on Obiri, Tirop and Kasait to ensure the crown returns home.
It will be a tough task for Sum, Moraa and Emily Tuei in the women's 800m heats, a race littered with many in-form athletes.
Among them is world champion, Ugandan Halima Nakaayi, who set a national record of 1:58.03 at the Monaco Diamond League.
All eyes will also be on Sudanese-American youngster Athing Mu whose 1:56.07, set at the US national trials is the fastest of 2021.
A win in the far east will be historic for Mu, making her the first ever American to win gold in 800m.
Regardless, Sum is adamant that championships are unpredictable and anything can happen regardless of form.
"It will be a good race; a championship is always a championship. Either way. I am prepared and my target is to make the finals," she said.
Also competing on Friday is Matthew Sawe in the men's high jump. Sawe, the national record holder with 2.28m, qualified for Tokyo courtesy of World Athletics' ranking system.