World record holders Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet, along with Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, are among a strong cast of elite athletes invited to the Athletics Kenya (AK) Tokyo World Championships trials set for July 22 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
Participation in the trials is strictly by invitation only. The women’s 5,000m and men’s 10,000m trials were staged a week ago during thePrefontaine Classic in Oregon. Events on the day will include sprints, middle-distance and long-distance races, field events, and relays.
These include the 100m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, and 3,000m for both men and women. The men’s 400m hurdles, 5,000m, javelin, long jump, 20km race walk, as well as the women’s 10,000m are also on the programme.
There will be further trials for the relay events, including the 4x100 and 4x400m, both men and women and the 4x400m mixed event. To earn an invite, athletes are required to have undergone a minimum of three no-notice out-of-competition doping tests between October 29, 2024, and August 2025, with at least one completed by May 24.
Invitations were also based on athletes who have met the World Athletics entry standards, are highly ranked globally, or are defending world champions. "The list has been derived from the Road to Tokyo tool, world ranking quota and the World Athletics season's top list. Defending champions are invited," the statement from AK read.
All eyes will be on double world champion Kipyegon, who returns as the reigning queen of both the 1,500m (3:54.87) and 5,000m (14:53.88) from Budapest 2023. The 31-year-old recently lit up the Prefontaine Classic, smashing her own 1,500m world record in a 3:48.68 finish, becoming the first woman to dip under 3:49 in history.
In the women's 10,000m, Chebet, in red-hot form, will be the highlight. She shattered the women’s 10,000m world record during the Olympic Trials at the 2024 Pre Classic, clocking an eye-popping 28:54.14, the first woman ever under 29 minutes. At the 2025 Pre Classic on July 5, she smashed the 5,000m mark with a 13:58.06, rewriting yet another world record to become the first woman under 14 minutes in the event.
The 24-year-old is no stranger to the World Championship podium, having claimed silver in Eugene (2022) and bronze in Budapest (2023) in the 5,000m. Meanwhile, Omanyala will be hoping to redeem himself after a disappointing seventh-place finish in the men’s 100m final at the 2023 show in Budapest, where he clocked 10.07.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games champion will be eager to return to the global medal conversation in Tokyo. The men’s 3,000m steeplechase will also be closely watched, with Olympic bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwot and 2024 Diamond League winner Amos Serem, and rising star Faith Cherotich (women's event) all earning invitations. AK have confirmed that the top two finishers in each event will earn automatic selection for the Tokyo Worlds, provided they have met the qualifying standards. A third athlete will be chosen at the discretion of the selectors. "The first two athletes to cross the finish line will automatically be selected, provided they have qualified as per the World Athletics entry Standards," the statement read.
Athletes who wish to double at the trials will be allowed to do so, but the final decision on doubling at the global championships rests with the selectional panel. Defending champions remain exempt from this criterion. Athletes must personally collect their bib numbers on July 21 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex. "All athletes participating during the Trials must personally collect their bib numbers on July 21 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex starting from 9.00 am to 5:00 pm."
"Any athlete who fails to collect the bib numbers on the day indicated above will not be allowed to compete."
