Revamp mixed relay team ahead of global show, says Mwaniki

National sprints coach Stephen Mwaniki insists there is a need to revamp the mixed 4x400m relay team ahead of the World Championships following the team's early exit at the Paris Olympics.

The mixed relay team of David Sanayek, Veronica Mutua, Boniface Mweresa and Mercy Chebet failed to clinch the three automatic final slots after placing seventh (3:13.13) in heat one on Friday.

Netherlands (3:07.43), USA (3:07.74) and Britain (3:08.01) went on to secure the podium in the final.

Mwaniki reckons that there has to be a revamp in the relay team to ensure Kenya's success at the World Championships slated for September 13-21, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

"We need to inject new talent into the team. Bringing in young talents as well as having a few of the old guards in the team to guide the others will be very crucial for our success,” he remarked.

Mwaniki highlighted the need for female athletes capable of running 50 seconds as well as male athletes capable of clocking 44 seconds.

“The team needs at least two female athletes who can run 50 seconds like Mary Moraa. For the men, we also need two who can clock 44 seconds. Zablon Ekwam is a good candidate for that,” he added.

"If the two would have been part of the team in Paris, I am sure the performance would have been different," he said.

For the team to qualify for the World Championships, they must rank among the top 14 nations at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, on May 13-14.

For the team to secure qualification for the World Championships, they have to be ranked among the top 14 nations at the World Relays slated for May 13-14 in Guangzhou, China.

Mwaniki is optimistic the meeting in China will be instrumental in gauging the mixed relay readiness.

"China will be our stage to relaunch. We'll start preparations and look for new talents immediately after the Olympics," Mwaniki asserted.

He emphasized early preparations to tackle the fierce global competition at the next quadrennial showpiece in Los Angeles 2028.

“We have to start immediately for the Los Angeles games. As evident from the Paris Games, competition on the global stage is not easy. We have to start preparing the athletes for success early,"  he said.

He attributed the team's poor performance in Paris to stage fright, noting that except for Mweresa, it was the first Olympic appearance for the other athletes.

“Except Mweresa, all the other athletes had not been to the Olympics. Mweresa’s performance was good and as for the other athletes, I believe they had stage fright,” he said.

“The Olympics is the biggest stage in terms of sports and billions of people are watching you when you make errors. That kind of pressure will lead to poor performance," he added.

Mwaniki pointed out a need for a psychological re-evaluation of Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala following his performance in Paris.

“He needs to have psychological re-evaluation immediately because the World Championships are drawing near,” Mwaniki said.

“Omanyala has conquered Africa; he has the second fastest time in the world this year but his performance in Paris was wanting. Something needs to be done quickly because he is an athlete capable of competing on the grand stage,” Mwaniki stated.

In Paris, Omanyala clocked 10.08 seconds to win Heat Two and book a slot in the men's 100m semifinals. He was, however,  eliminated after placing eighth in the semis with a time of 10.08.

USA’s Noah Lyles (9.79), Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson (9.79) and Fred Kerley of the USA (9.81) went on to secure the podium in the finals.

Before the Olympics, Omanyala had clocked 9.79 (the second fastest time in 2024 )  behind Thompson (9.77) during the Olympic trials at the Nyayo Stadium.