by Larry Eder
Asbel Kiprop winning Emsley Carr mile for second time, photo by PhotoRun.net
The Trials for the World Champs for Kenya’s star studded athletics team will be held this coming weekend. We have Justin Lagat covering the event for RunBlogRun. Here is his first piece on the event, which starts on Friday. Justin has just arrived, having taken the bus from his home to the Safaricom Stadium.
Watch for twitter updates and stories all weekend!
The Kenyan athletics trials happens this weekend; 31st July to 1st August, from Justin Lagat
It will happen in the same Stadium that the US president, a few days ago, delivered a strong speech to the Kenyan nation and to the world at large, mentioning, at some point in his speech, that he is a fan of Kenya’s legendary athletes. This was in the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium.
I will be there too during the two days that the Kenyan national athletics trials to select the Kenyan team to the IAAF world championships in Beijing takes place, to bring you first hand information on what will be happening there through live tweets and articles to RunBlogRun.
The invitation lists in all the events are filled with star athletes who already meet the qualifying times to compete at the world championships. Plus, there are those who already have wild cards either as the defending world champions, or the 2014 IAAF Diamond League winners. There will be no heats nor semifinals, but pure top action in every event.
World defending champions who will be in action -those who are in the invitation lists- are Asbel Kiprop in the men’s 1500m, Eunice Sum in the women’s 800m, Ezekiel Kemboi in the men’s 3000m steeplechase and Milcah Chemos in the women’s 3000m steeplechase. The diamond League winners are Jairus Birech in the men’s 3000m steeplechase and Caleb Ndiku in the men’s 5000m.
Among that which will be interesting at the Kasarani Stadium will be to watch how Jairus Birech, Ezekiel Kemboi and Conseslus Kipruto will run in the men’s 3000m event as they seek to make a formidable team in one of Kenya’s most successful track event. Will they raise the hopes of Kenyans that the tradition of Kenyan athletes dominating the podium in this event will continue in Beijing, amid the formidable challenge of US’s Evan Jager, who is proving to be one athlete capable of disappointing the Kenyans?
Milcah Chemos is the women’s defending champion in the 3000m steeplechase, but she has been out of action for a while now. However, her name is in the invitation list for the trials and she is going to be up against a new generation of strong runners that include Virginia Nyambura, Ivy Kiyeng, Purity Kirui and Lidya Chepkurui, among others.
It has been a while since the king of 800m, David Rudisha, ran on Kenyan soil and it will be exciting, especially for the local fans, to watch him run at the trials against a crop of other new comers in this event.
There are athletes who won at the Kenyan national championships in another event, but will be seeking to make the team in a different one at the trials. Vivian Cheruiyot won the women’s 1500m at the nationals, but the 2011 double world champion will be seeking to make the team in the 10,000m event. Geoffrey Kamworor won the 5000m at the nationals, but will be going for the 10,000m at the trials.
One athlete who always doesn’t disappoint the local fans and always participates in Kenya’s local competitions will be running in the men’s 1500m. Asbel Kiprop won the 800m at the nationals, will be running in the 1500m during the trials.
Look out for updates from me on the two days that the trials will be taking place at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi from Friday.
