The secretary of Athletics Kenya youth subcommittee, Joseph Ilovi, believes the pressure is on Kenya to defend their World Under 20 title for the third time in Cali, Colombia.
Ilovi said all eyes are on this year's contingent to the biennial championship to maintain the same standards of performance as their predecessors at the last two editions in Tampere, Finland (2018) and Nairobi (2021).
"Let them not say we were able to defend our title because of the home advantage. The fact that the next edition is in Cali is no excuse not to defend the title for the third time," Ilovi said.
In Tampere, Kenya led the medal standings with 11 medals (six gold, four silver, and one bronze) before producing their best performance at the under 20 level, three years later with 16 medals (eight gold, one silver, and seven bronze).
Ilovi, however, believes the United States will pose a bigger threat this time round as they did not compete at the last edition in Africa due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Still, Ilovi insists the juniors are more than equipped to bring the title back home after the August 1-6 championship.
"The Americans didn't compete at the last edition in Nairobi and will be our biggest threat in Colombia. However, there's no reason we can't beat them because we've done it before in Tampere, Finland," he said.
Ilovi was speaking when he led a section of the subcommittee officials on a fact-finding mission to various training camps in the South Rift and South Nyanza regions. The tour covered Kiptere, Silibwet, and Emanyatta camps in the South Rift as well as Kiendege, Keberesi, and Boruma camps in South Nyanza.
The countrywide camps, expected to shut shop on Friday before reopening of schools, have provided junior athletes with the chance to sharpen themselves ahead of national trials for the World Under 20 in July at Moi Stadium, Kasarani.
While speaking at Keberesi, Ilovi urged coaches to ensure their athletes' travel documents are up to date to avoid any last-minute rushes for those who will book their place on the plane to Colombia.
"Start preparing their passports early because the time between the trials and the championship may not be enough to secure one. If you were born in 2003 or early 2004... between January and June, you should have an ID card," he said.
Ilovi added: "Your ID number is one of the requirements when submitting the names for the World Under 20. Last time, I had a hard time inquiring about these details."
