• Kenya had won every title since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where Julius Korir cut the tape in 8:11.80 ahead of Joseph Mahmoud (8:13.31) of France and USA’s Brian Diemer (8:14.06)
• At last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, El-Bakkali (8:03.53) and Girma (8:05.44) outpaced Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot (8:11.98).
Image: HANDOUT
National athletics coach Julius Kirwa is waiting in bated breath for the final team selection in the men’s middle distances for the Paris Olympics.
The Olympic trials are set for this weekend at Nyayo Stadium, where 17 of the 50 invited male athletes in the middle distances (800m, 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase) have already qualified for next month's show.
Kirwa highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the final team selection, especially given recent global performances.
“We are in dilemma at the moment since we do not know how the final team will look like,” Kirwa noted.
Kenya's 32-year dominance in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase ended at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali (8:08.90) taking gold.
Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma (8:10.38) and Kenya’s Benjamin Kigen (8:11.45) completed the podium.
Kenya had won every title since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where Julius Korir cut the tape in 8:11.80 ahead of Joseph Mahmoud (8:13.31) of France and USA’s Brian Diemer (8:14.06)
The last Kenyan title came at the 2016 Rio Olympics where Conceslus Kipruto clocked 8:03.28 to beat USA’s Evan Jager (8:04.28) and Mahiedine Benabbad of France (8:11.52).
At last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, El-Bakkali (8:03.53) and Girma (8:05.44) outpaced Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot (8:11.98).
Five athletes have met the Paris Olympic qualifying mark (8:15.00) so far – Simon Koech (8:04.19), Kibiwot (8:07.38), Leonard Bett (8:09.45), Amos Serem (8:10.82) and Benjamin Kigen (8:11.12).
Kenya has historically secured four gold medals in the men’s 1,500m– Kipchoge Keino in 1968 (3:34.90), Peter Rono in 1988 (3:35.96), Noah Ngenyi in 2000 (3:32.07) and Asbel Kiprop in 2008 (3:33.11).
Timothy Cheruiyot came close during the Tokyo Olympics placing second in 3:29.01 behind Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Kenyans have dominated the 800m race since 2008 with Emmanuel Korir winning gold (1:45.06) and Ferguson Rotich (1:45.23) securing silver during the last edition of the global showpiece in Tokyo.
However, at the Budapest World Championships, Canada’s Marco Arop (1:44.24) edged out Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi (1:44.53) for the title.
Kirwa emphasised the need for early and intensive preparations ahead of Paris.
“With just one month to go, we’re already behind in preparations. We must focus on readying the selected team for success in Paris,” he stressed.
The seasoned coach revealed Athletics Kenya is keen on qualifying more sprinters for the global extravaganza.
“We have been trying to allocate programmes to the sprinters,” Kirwa stated.
Only three have met qualifying times; Ferdinand Omanyala in the 100m (9.85), Zablon Ekwam in the 400m (44.69), and Wiseman Were in the 400m hurdles (48.57).
Kirwa expressed his confidence in the relay team's chance of qualifying after missing out at the World Relay Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.
“We have a huge possibility of the relay teams qualifying. We have invited some countries to ensure that World Athletics recognises the performance,” he added.
The teams include Uganda, South Sudan and Botswana.
Additionally, the mixed relay team will be bolstered by Mary Moraa’s entry after she withdrew from the Bahamas meet.
“Moraa’s inclusion is crucial for our mixed relay team’s qualification,” Kirwa said.
He also highlighted the challenges posed by Europe’s weather and altitude thus the need for intensive training to prepare the athletes.
“We’ll set up special camps for our athletes to acclimatise and prepare for Paris,” he concluded.