AK to select 10,000m Olympics team in USA
Kibiwott Kandie celebrates after winning the 10,000m race during the Kenya Defence Force Athletics Championship at Ulinzi Sports Complex in May last year.
What you need to know:
- Kenya has yet to win gold in the women’s 10,000m since the race debuted at the Summer Games in the 1988 edition in Seoul, South Korea. Sally Kipyego (2012 London) and Vivian Cheruiyot (2016 Rio) claimed silver medals with the only other medal (bronze) coming from Linet Masai in 2008 Beijing.
- Tokyo Olympics 5,000m silver medallist, Hellen Obiri, Sheila Chelangat, and Irene Cheptai represented Kenya at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games held in 2021. Obiri finished fourth, Cheptai sixth and Chelangat 16th in the race won by Dutch Sifan Hassan.
Athletics Kenya (AK) will use the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League on May 25 to select the men's and women’s 10,000m teams for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
AK Director of Competitions, Paul Mutwii, said that 12 men and 14 women, who have met the qualifying times or are close to attaining them, will battle it out for the places in Team Kenya.
“The organisers of Prefontaine and World Athletics have agreed to AK’s request and it’s a good idea to select the team early to give our 10,000m runners ample time to prepare for Paris,” said Mutwii.
The men’s qualifying standards in the 10,000m for the Paris Olympics is 27:00.0 minutes and 30:40.00 for women.
“We are trying to ensure that all our athletes for the two races get visas on time,” said Mutwii.
This will not be the first time AK is using the Prefontaine Classic to select the men’s 10,000m team for the Olympics, having done so ahead of the 2012 London Summer Games.
Kenya is yet to win the men’s 10,000m gold at the Olympics since the late Naftali Temu’s exploits at the 1968 Mexico City Games.
Richard Chelimo (1992 Barcelona), Paul Tergat (1996-Atlanta, 2000-Sydney), and Paul Tanui (2016 Rio), all won silver.
The country has also yet to win gold in the women’s 10,000m since the race debuted at the Summer Games in the 1988 edition in Seoul, South Korea. Sally Kipyego (2012 London) and Vivian Cheruiyot (2016 Rio) claimed silver medals with the only other medal (bronze) coming from Linet Masai in 2008 Beijing.
Tokyo Olympics 5,000m silver medallist, Hellen Obiri, Sheila Chelangat, and Irene Cheptai represented Kenya at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games held in 2021. Obiri finished fourth, Cheptai sixth and Chelangat 16th in the race won by Dutch Sifan Hassan.
AK Director of Youth Affairs Barnaba Korir, explained that having the athletes compete in the USA allows them to qualify with a few events having the 10,000m races this year.
Korir singled out the Prefontaine Classic and the London Diamond League on July 20.
“Even if we are to hold the trials in the country, getting someone to qualify at altitude is next to impossible. More so, most of those who have attained the qualifying time are from road races,” said Korir.
World cross country and world 5km champion, Beatrice Chebet and world 5km silver medallist, Lilian Kasait, are among those in contention in the women’s race.
World Half Marathon Championship silver medallist Margaret Chelimo, World Half Marathon Championship bronze medallist Catherine Reline, African Cross Country Championships title holder Cintia Chepng’eno, and fast-rising Emmaculate Anyango, are also in the field.
The men's line up has the 2023 world 10,000m silver medallist, Daniel Simiu, the 2022 world 10,000m silver medallist, Samuel Waithaka, and Nicholas Kimeli. Kibiwott Kandie, the former World Half Marathon record holder and Commonwealth Games 10,000m bronze medallist, and Samuel Chebolei, will also compete in the meet.
