Nyanza South track and field meeting postponed as region mourns former marathoner Asiago

Athletics Kenya (AK)  Nyanza South chairman Peter Angwenyi consults with marathoner Dickson Simba/ANGWENYI GICHANA

The Nyanza South Track and Field Championships, initially scheduled for Friday, have been postponed to Sunday to allow athletes and officials to attend the burial of former marathoner Delila Asiago.

The championships will now be held at Cardinal Otunga High School in Mosocho. Athletics Kenya (AK) Nyanza South chairman Peter Angwenyi said the regional event was rescheduled in honour of Asiago, who will be buried at her home in Kitale on Friday.

Asiago, the wife of former athlete Thomas Osano, passed away two weeks ago. Osano currently serves as the AK Nyanza South athletes’ representative. “The entire athletics fraternity from the region will be in Kitale for the burial of Asiago.

She was one of the most accomplished long-distance runners of the 1990s,” said Angwenyi. He conveyed his condolences to Osano, his family and the wider athletics fraternity.

Attention will now shift to Sunday’s championships, where several national secondary school champions are expected to take centre stage.

Riooga Secondary School’s Alex Moonka, winner of the 100m and 200m titles at the national secondary school championships in Kisumu, will renew his rivalry with schoolmate Brian Okoth. Okoth is the reigning Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSA) 100m and 200m champion.

In the women’s sprints, national secondary schools and FEASSA 200m champion Faith Onserio will be among the athletes to watch. Onserio narrowly missed qualification for the World Under-20 Championships despite winning the 200m at Nyayo National Stadium two weeks ago.

She is expected to face strong competition from fellow sprinter Melvin Kireki. Riooga Secondary School principal Haron Onchong’a said the institution, which also hosts an Athletics Kenya Youth Training Camp, will field a squad of 30 athletes.

Other AK training camps, including Nyamagwa SDA, Keberesi and Kiendege, will also be represented at the championships. Nyamagwa SDA is a newly established camp under former marathoner Abel Gisemba.

“Since we established the camp, we have had athletes representing the region at national competitions. This will contribute to the growth and development of athletics in the region,” said Gisemba.

The championships will also serve as the selection event for the Nyanza South team to the National Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games trials scheduled for later this month at Nyayo National Stadium.