•Race Korir said the Eritrean duo of Mebrahtu Merhawi and Daniel Gebru will be competing at the event, which was launched last Friday.
•The winners in both senior men and women categories will go home US$ 6,000.
Image: FILE
At least 40 foreign athletes have already confirmed participation in the second edition of the Sirikwa Classic set for this Saturday at the Lobo Village in Kapseret, Uasin Gishu county.
The meeting chief executive officer, Barnaba Korir, said the athletes, who have confirmed their participation will join other top Kenyans selected during the National Cross Country Championships two weeks ago in Ruiru.
The race, which is part of the World cross country Tour, has attracted t over 1,000 athletes.
Korir said the Eritrean duo of Mebrahtu Merhawi and Daniel Gebru will be competing at the event, which was launched last Friday.
“Apart from the two athletes from Eritrea, we also have Millan De La Oliva Emil (Sweden), Mathayo Sombi Samhenda (Tanzania), Sondre Moen (Norway) and Ezekiel Mutai (Uganda),” said Korir.
He said many other foreign athletes have shown interest in running at the event but are yet to confirm.
“We expect a bigger number of foreign athletes compared to last year because of the nature of the event. Once we have their confirmation, we shall communicate to everyone to prepare well,” added Korir.
He said Kenyan athletes who finished in the top 50 at the recently concluded national cross-country championships, have automatically qualified for the championships.
“Anybody who finished in top 50 has qualified for the championships and we hope all of them will come for the event now that we are hosting such big international show,” he added.
However, to meet the international standards of 1,000 athletes to compete on the course, he said some athletes, who have been competing in many races across the world will be considered.
“We shall give an opportunity to those athletes who might have missed a chance to compete at the national level but have history of running. We shall ensure we get good numbers,” he added.
According to the programme, the championships shall begin with the 1km kids race (both boys and girls), The Under 18 boys and girls competing in 6km and 5km races respectively will be next on the stage before paving way for the under 20 boys and girls to race in the 8km and 6km respectively.
“This time, we shall follow the World Athletics system, where the 10km senior men's race will be the last event.
"Last year the senior women's 10km race was the last event in honour of the late Agnes Tirop,” he said.
The winners in both senior men and women categories will go home US$ 6,000. Second and third athletes will pocket $5,000 and $4,000 respectively with the top 15 athletes also being rewarded.
In the Under-20 category, winners will pocket US$1,250 with the second going home US$1,000 richer. The third-placed runner will receive $800.
The under-18 winner will be pocketing $750 with the second and third being getting US$500 and US$400 respectively. The top six athletes in the category will also be rewarded.
Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei said it has been a long journey for Kenya to host International races.
“We want to continue being great in the world and but we must make sure we compete clean and fair. We have managed to get another chance because we have produced many athletes who have competed well for many years," he noted.
He added: “Last year, the event attracted over 7,000 fans and this year, we are targeting 10,000 spectators on that day. I want to urge fans to come and watch this great men and women running,” said Tuwei.