Sheila Makungu and Daniel Simiyu will lead the Athletics Kenya (AK) North Rift region at the World Under-20 national trials at Nyayo National Stadium.
The event will be used to select a team for the World Under 20 Championships set for August 1-6 in Cali, Colombia.
Team manager Priscah Chebii said they have a strong sprints team, which they expect to shine at the two-day National Trials starting this Friday.
She said apart from the sprints team, they also have a good mid and long-distance runners going by their superb show at the regional championships early this month.
“We have the best team and are looking forward to the National Trials. The sprinters, especially, are in awesome shape hence they all achieved the qualifying time and we expect them to shine,” said Chebii.
Makungu will be competing alongside her compatriot Sandra Chepchumba in the 100m while Simiyu will run alongside Shadrack Wasilwa.
“Initially, we didn't have a good sprints team but this time, we have the best. This is as a result of Ferdinand Omanyala, the reigning Africa Senior Athletics 100m champion, who hails from this region,” said Chebii.
She said all their 49 athletes, who are all qualified, have an upper hand to medal and more than half of the team will most likely qualify for the Colombia show.
“We want to win all the medals on offer and ensure our team qualifies for Cali. We have the best team from the 100m to 3,000m steeplechase,” she bragged.
The sentiments were shared by the region’s public relations officer, Boniface Tiren, who said the majority of the junior athletes were part of the AK junior camps formed in April.
“We have the best team so far and all those who qualified for the trials will have an upper hand in terms of qualifying. Many of these athletes were in camps and we had a big contingent during the regional trials. I registered about 700 runners,” said Tiren.
The region comprises counties of Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans Nzoia, Turkana, West Pokot, and Samburu.
Others at the championships will include the reigning World Under-20 1,500m champion Purity Chepkirui who will be seeking to defend her title in Cali.
Fresh from winning silver at the Africa Senior Athletics Championships, behind Winny Chebet in Meduit, Mauritius, Chepkirui finished third at the national trials for World Championships and Commonwealth Games. However, she will not be competing at the two global shows.
