Wojciech Nowicki at the 2021 Kip Keino Classic (© Organisers)
The men’s Tokyo Olympic hammer medallists will renew their rivalry at the Kip Keino Classic – a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event – in Nairobi on 7 May.
Poland’s Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki, Norway’s silver medallist Eivind Henriksen and Poland’s bronze medallist Pawel Fajdek will all be in action, with four-time world champion Fajdek on the hunt for back to back wins in Kenya’s capital city.
Fajdek bought his 2021 season to a close in Nairobi, throwing 79.19m to beat Nowicki with 77.99m. This time they will be joined by Henriksen, who started his season with a fourth-place finish and 75.05m throw at the European Throwing Cup in Leiria.
Nowicki had the competition of his life to win in Tokyo, the 33-year-old improving to 82.52m to break his bronze medal streak after finishing third at his previous four successive global championships. Henriksen set a Norwegian record by throwing 81.58m for silver, while Fajdek threw 81.53m for bronze.
“It’s a dream for the two of us to be on the podium together,” Nowicki said later, on becoming an Olympic medallist alongside his compatriot Fajdek. Now the two will be battling for the top spot in Nairobi.
Since 2008, the pair have clashed in a total of 107 finals, with Fajdek leading the head-to-head, 86-21.
The Kip Keino Classic is the third Gold level meeting in this year’s World Athletics Continental Tour, which kicks off at the USATF Bermuda Games on Saturday (9) and then moves on to the Golden Games at Mt. SAC on 16 April.
