•Kirwa said they will need to spend more time with the Kenyan steeplechasers to sharpen their talons for upcoming events.
•He stated that AK will hold national trials in all events before summoning successful participants to camp to prepare for the next major global championships.
Image: FILE
Athletics Kenya (AK) head coach Julius Kirwa has acknowledged that the national team coaches are under the pump to reclaim Kenya's lost glory in the cutthroat steeplechase races.
In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Kirwa said they intend to deploy all resources at their disposal to restore the country's erstwhile clout as a global leader in the water and barrier race.
"Our primary focus will be on the steeplechase, where we have struggled in recent years. This is our most difficult assignment as coaches since the entire country believes that Kenyan athletes must always win this event," Kirwa remarked.
"We are already feeling the heat because this is a race we have dominated for a long time until things began to go south for our athletes," he added.
Kirwa said they will need to spend more time with the Kenyan steeplechasers to sharpen their talons for upcoming events.
He added that in contrast to past years, they intend to dedicate more time to the team to iron out any kinks.
"We have requested to have more time with our athletes in camp to ensure we work on them properly before competition."
The seasoned tactician stated that the coaches will closely monitor athletes who turn up for the third Athletics Kenya (AK) track and field meeting at the Ulinzi Sports Complex this weekend to identify appropriate personnel for the arduous task ahead.
"We shall observe all of them meticulously and see who possesses the aptitude to fly the country's flag on the global front," Kirwa remarked.
He stated that AK will hold national trials in all events before summoning successful participants to camp to prepare for the next major global championships.
"Once we have our preferred list of athletes in place, we expect to summon them to camp to prepare for the upcoming major global championships," he added.
Participants will be seeking to punch tickets in the 100m, 110 m hurdles, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, 10,000m and 4x 400m relay.
Other events include 4x 100m, high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, hammer, javelin, pole vault, and combined events.
He said athletes will use the event as a build-up for various international events this year, adding that all athletes are free to register for competition.
Kirwa urged athletes to turn up in large numbers for the event which will be the first of the new year.
The Olympic Games, which are set for July 26–August 11 in Paris, France, and the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which are slated for March 1–3 in Glasgow, Scotland, are two of the major competitions that Kenyan athletes are aiming to qualify for this year.
The nation will also be eyeing honours at the World Cross Country Championships scheduled for March 30 in Belgrade, Serbia, the World Athletics Relay Championships scheduled for May 4 to 5 in Nassau, Bahamas and the World Athletics Under-20 Championships on August 26 to 31 in Lima, Peru.
There will be similar interest in the forthcoming African Games set for March 8 to 23 in Accra, Ghana.