Athletics Kenya will use the third edition of the Sirikwa cross Country meeting next weekend to select a team for the Africa Championships.
Sirikwa Cross Country Meeting isset for February 3 at the Lobo Village in Uasin Gishu County.
With the Africa Cross Country Championships slated for February 26 in Tunisia, the top six finishers in each category will earn slots for the continental show.
Speaking during the launch of the Sirikwa race at the Lobo Village in Uasin Gishu county on Wednesday, AK president Jack Tuwei was optimistic that they will select a good team for the continental event.
“This event is a Golden Label and we shall use it as a yardstick to select the best team to represent our country,” he noted.
He said after the Sirikwa race last year, all top finishers had a successful year led by Faith Kipyegon.
"When Faith won the senior women's 10km race last year, she went ahead to break three world records in one mile, 1,500m, and 5,000m. This is a great place for athletes to start from,” said Tuwei.
Race director, Barnaba Korir, said they have a good system of making sure that Sirikwa is an all-inclusive race.
“For us to have a good event, we shall bring on board some of the athletes who competed last year. We plan to bring the top 10 athletes from the cross-country series last year so that we don’t leave anybody out," he noted.
Korir added: "We will also extend our invitation to the top 20 athletes in the world in both track and road races. Performers in the AK regional cross-country meetings will also be invited,” said Korir.
To widen the net, young athletes who have not competed anywhere else apart from the primary and secondary school level will equally be considered.
“Selected names have been forwarded to the World Athletics for vetting,” said Korir.
