Asbel Kiprop winning the 1500m at the 2016 Kenyan Olympic Trials.PHOTO/IAAF
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 18 – A star-studded lineup will ignite the Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret this weekend as a galaxy of top athletes compete in the last Athletics Kenya (AK) meet on Friday and Saturday.
The series-stopper, taking place at Kenya’s athletics nerve centre, has attracted the mighty in the Track and Field before the action begin from the grass root later in the month.
With more than a dozen being engaged in the dollar-minting Diamond League abroad, upsets and unpredictable results will characterize the two-day competition that ends the track build-up series which started in Bondo at the beginning of April.
“This is our final Meeting and we are expecting a huge turn-out considering the fact that Eldoret hosts the highest number of our athletes. This will be the climax of the build-up towards the national championships,” AK head of competition Paul Mutwii said.
Being the World Championship year, both seasoned and aspiring track athletes are leaving nothing to chance in their final preparations ahead of the National Trials that will see the finest selected to represent the country during the August global tournament in London.
Since the six-tier series begun, the big boys have been missing in action but the Eldoret congress promises to parade a quality field considering the contest is taking place on a tartan track after the facility was upgraded to international class.
“Apart from expecting top runners in the mix, we are also going to witness faster times in local competitions. Our athletes will no longer be depending solely on competing in Europe to attain qualifying standards,” noted Benjamin Limo, the 2005 Helsinki 5,000m World Champion.
Although the disciplined forces have already done their national selections, athletes from the other Athletics Kenya affiliates will use competitions before taking part in the County and Regional Championships.
AK has sponsored and organized four similar Meetings that have been held in Bondo in Nyanza North, Mumias in Western Region, Thika for Central and Nyahururu in the South Rift.
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