21 DAYS TO GO
Sylvester Simiyu, a sprinter, is hoping to make the most of his second opportunities to win medals at the World Under-20 Athletics Championships, which will be held at Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) in Kasarani from August 17 to 22. Although the junior athlete did not qualify to represent Kenya in the 100m, Kenya was given the opportunity to select elite runners to carry the country's flag as the host nation. He was given the opportunity since he won the 100m event during the trials. Simiyu, who completed his KCSE this year at the Goseta Boys in Trans Nzoia County, said he aspires to be like national 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala. He claims Omanyala has been an inspiration to him and that he has competed against him in a number of races, including the AK Track and Field at Nyayo Stadium. “I was overjoyed when Omanyala qualified for the Olympic Games because we had trained together. “I want to run my heart out to prove I deserved a second opportunity at the World Under-20,” Simiyu added. He also stated that he has been practicing only 300 meters each day at home, but that he has all he needs at the camp to perform. “It's possible that a lack of training facilities back home contributed to my poor performance. Now that I have the facilities and technical personnel at my disposal, it's up to me to perform,” Simiyu, who has a personal best of 10.7 seconds and is aiming for 10.3.
At the Kasarani stadium, 13 athletes have been selected for the World Under 20 national trials. Heritone Wanyonyi of North Rift won the 10km race walk against Nyanza South's Keyborn Obato to secure the spot. Wanyonyi won the race in 42:47.5, beating Obato's time of 45:55.5 to qualify, and Nairobi's Dominic Mwendwa in 49:51.4, but only the top two runners would advance. Margaret Gati won the women's race with a time of 48:43.9, finishing ahead of compatriot Salomen Kerubo in second place with a time of 55:37.9. Peter Kithome and Agnes Ngumbi, who won the 400m hurdles in the men's and women's events, are among those who qualified today.