•Led by head coach Julius Kirwa, the potent Kenyan contingent has the potential to plunder medals at whim in the Hungarian capital when duty finally calls.
•We only hope that Team Kenya will not be beset by the gremlins that left the government with an egg on the face during last year's world championships.
Image: FILE
Athletics Kenya (AK) has unveiled a potent 57-member squad ahead of the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The multi-talented Kenyan team will compete at the newly built National Athletics Centre on the eastern bank of the Danube River in Budapest from August 19-27.
Led by head coach Julius Kirwa, the potent Kenyan contingent has the potential to plunder medals at whim in the Hungarian capital when duty finally calls.
Celebrated track queen Faith Kipyegon headlines the rich list that also boasts high-flying Commonwealth Games 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala and the women's 3000m steeplechase record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech.
Also in the picture frame is javelin giant Julius Yego who became the first Kenyan to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal in a field event in 2014 and the first one also to win a World Championships gold medal in a field event a year later.
Yego went on to storm the silver podium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The superb depth of the team conjures up a measure of confidence in Kenya's capacity to assert authority in the championships.
The nation's meteoric rise as an athletics powerhouse has not been an easy ride. The country invests colossal amounts of funds each year to identify, nurture and parade the best talent right from school.
The annual Kenyan inter-school games have given rise to runners who have worked indefatigably to command global acclamation. Indeed, athletics has been a great beneficiary of the government's benevolence over the years.
Add that to effective youth development structures established by the local governing body and you get a fertile ground for producing world beaters. We only hope that Team Kenya will not be beset by the gremlins that left the government with an egg on the face during last year's world championships.
For instance, Omanyala arrived in Oregon a few hours before his race due to a visa hiccup. The resultant jet lag made him compete dispassionately.
Such incidents are costly in the long run because they end up producing undesirable outcomes. We hope that all those tasked with Team Kenya's preparations will play their roles effectively to set up a conducive environment where athletes can easily thrive.
Glad to note that allowances have lately been paid in advance and in good time to get the athletes into the right mood. We extol the government for introducing such a brilliant system of player motivation.
There is also a need to ensure kitting and branding are done appropriately to forestall the kind of embarrassment that beset the Kenyan boxing team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where our pugilists were forced to borrow vests and trunks.
The boxers fought in kits borrowed from the International Boxing Association (IBA) after Team Kenya management failed to secure the required kit on time.
This occurred after the boxing team presented an old competition kit that bore the Nike logo which the organisers blatantly spurned.
We cannot fail to applaud the government's outstanding efforts in providing incentives to local athletes. Only recently, the government made a promise to handsomely reward Kenyan athletes who break world records.
This happened as President William Ruto awarded Faith Kipyegon Sh5 million in prize money as well as a house in Nairobi valued at Sh6 million.
Such noble gestures can go a long way in propelling Kenyan athletes to unprecedented heights.