• Mwaniki highlighted key athletes like Mercy Chebet and Veronica Mutua in the women's 400m.
• Apart from dominating in individual events, Mwaniki also has high hopes for the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams to qualify for the Olympics.
Image: TEDDY MULEI
National sprints coach Stephen Mwaniki expects positive results from sprint athletes selected for the African senior championships set to begin this Friday in Douala, Cameroon.
From the list of 59 athletes unveiled by Athletics Kenya (AK) for the championships, 12 are sprinters.
Mwaniki believes the federation has selected a list of formidable competitors who will conquer Douala.
"This is one of the best sprints teams we've assembled. Our expectations are high," he stated.
He highlighted key athletes like Mercy Chebet and Veronica Mutua in the women's 400m.
"There are some very strong sprinters in the list like Chebet who has been able to run 51 seconds and will be a hard nut to crack for the other competitors,” Mwaniki stated.
“Mutua is a bronze medallist at the championships and will no doubt upgrade her medal to silver or gold this time round,” he added.
At the national championships, which also served as trials for the African Championships, Chebet clinched the 400m title in 51.81 seconds, followed by Gladys Jepkemboi (52.13) and Mutua (52.60).
Other notable athletes include three-time national 100m champion Esther Mbagari, national 100m hurdles record holder Rukia Nusra and men’s 100m national champion Meshack Babu.
Kelvin Tauta and Kelvin Kipkorir lead the men's 400m team while national champion Mike Mokamba spearheads the 200m alongside Samuel Chege.
Mokamba is optimistic about his chances of a podium finish in the Cameroonian coastal town.
“Competition in the 200m is tough, especially from South Africa and Botswana. However, that does not faze me. I aim to finish on the podium,” Mokamba stated.
At the last edition, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo took the 200m crown in 20.26 seconds, with Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme (20.61) and South Africa’s Clarence Munyai (20.69) rounding out the podium.
Apart from dominating in the individual events, Mwaniki also has high hopes for the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams to qualify for the Olympics.
“For the first time in many years, we are sending athletes in the relay event to try and meet the target. We only have two slots up for grabs. We need to dislodge them from that seat,” Mwaniki added.
The top 16 teams qualify for the Olympics with 14 slots already secured during the World Relay Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.
In the 4x400m, Kenya currently holds the 20th spot with a time of 3:01.41. They aim to surpass Zambia’s 2:59.12 to secure a top-16 finish.
The men’s 4x100m is placed 22nd place with a time of 38.61. They need to beat Trinidad and Tobago's 38.30 to qualify.
The 4x400m team will feature Boniface Mweresa, Zablon Ekwam, Brian Tinega and David Sanayek with the 4x100m team comprising Dan Kiviasi, Justin Isaboke, Meshack Babu and Mark Otieno.