As the clock ticks closer to the 2025 World Athletics Championships, George Mutinda, a third year student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in criminology at the University of Embu is striving to strike a fine balance between his studies and professional athletics.
Mutinda is in 61-member Team Kenya that will compete in the global track and field championship that starts on Saturday, and will run till September 21 at the National Stadium in Japan. The first batch of Team Kenya athletes leaves today for Tokyo.
As the 400 metres runner rubs shoulders with senior members of Team Kenya in training, he is yet to come to terms with how stars have aligned for him in his athletics journey, having only taken up athletics in March last year after being invited to compete in the Kenyan trials ahead of the African Games.
Even then, athletics was not his number one sport.
As a second year student at University of Embu, Mutinda played basketball as a guard, and took part in athletics for fun. He engaged in sports for fun, with the aim of getting money in form of allowances in university competitions.
Having noticed his potential, the university’s head of sports, David Macharia, approached coach Salvan Mwangire to assess the young man’s potential in athletics.
At the time, Mwangire was running athletics camps in Embu, and would accompany the athletes to training sessions at the university.
Mwangire took Mutinda under his wings, briefly put him in training, and then threw him on the deep end by entering him for a 400m race in Athletics Kenya Track and Field series in January last year at Nyayo National Stadium.
“I wanted to know how serious Macharia and the young man were because many runners desire to pursue athletics but they have the drive,” says Mwangire.
“I gave him a training programme, then let him fend for himself in the AK race.”
Amazingly, Mutinda dropped 48.11 seconds to win his 400 metres heat and qualified for the semi-finals, where he finished sixth in a faster time of 47.63.
“It dawned on me that I was handling an exceptionally raw talent,” Mwangire remembers.
Kenya Police runner George Mutinda (right) competes against Kevin Kipkorir of Kenya Prisons Service in men’s 400m race during the National Athletics Championship at Ulinzi Sports Complex, Nairobi on June 27, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
“I was surprised that I could run so well at Nyayo National Stadium, but being invited for Africa Games trials changed my thinking. Before then, all I had wanted in sports was to earn some cash allowances from inter-university sports,” says Mutinda.
Mutinda finished third in his heat in a new personal best of 47.40 seconds at the African Games trials on March 5 last year, but did not make the team because he finished third and only the top two were selected.
From then on, he posted top performances.
The highlight of his performances was a jaw-dropping result that saw him attain the world championships standard in 400m in addition to claiming his maiden national 400m title in National Athletics Championships held on May 21-22 last year at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
“It’s at the Kenyan trials for the African Games that I knew I had a calling in athletics. I left basketball. I wanted to meet top athletes who could challenge me,” says Mutinda.
At this year’s National Athletics Championships, he finished second in the heats in a time of 46.95, and improved it to 46.79 in the semi-finals.
He was disqualified for a false start in the final race, which was won by Kevin Tauta in 45.0, followed by Kevin Kipkorir (45.25) and Brian Tinega (45.32).
“I was too nervous at the blocks,” says the 2023 and 2024 universities 400m champion, who won the fifth leg of the Athletics Kenya Track and Field Meeting in a new personal best of 45.80 at the Nyayo National Stadium on April 26 this year, and reached the semi-final in 200m in 21.34 during the sixth leg at Ulinzi Sports Complex.
Mutinda made his debut in Kip Keino Classic, finishing seventh in the second final in 46.56 as Brian Tinega won in 45.06.
At the Kenya National Athletics Championships held on June 27 this year, Mutinda won his heat in 46.23, then came second in the semi-finals in personal best 45.11 behind Tinega who won in 44.99.
Mutinda then upset the form books in the final, clocking a blistering personal best 44.51 to win ahead of world mixed relay bronze medallists Tinega and Kevin Kipkorir. Tinega and Kipkorir settled for second and third places in 44.67 and 44.80 respectively.
“I put him on an elaborate training programme, and he really bought into it. For sure, he is destined for greatness only months into the programme,” Mwangire observes, adding that Mutinda can easily run the 400m in under 44 seconds.
“I won’t limit myself at the world championships. I believe I can achieve more,” said Mutinda. “It feels great. I have been working on this since I started training seriously for athletics last year with coach Mwangire,” says the 23-year-old.
Mutinda was a 10,000m runner at Kaliambeu Primary School in Mwala, Machakos County. In Tokyo, Kenya will field a full team in men’s 400m at the world championships for the first time in eight years. The last time Kenya had a full team was during the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London, where Boniface Mweresa, Collins Omae and Raymond Kibet were bundled out at the preliminary stage.
“I have been working on my endurance, which was lacking and my victory at the nationals was an indication that I can do much better if I put in more effort,” Mutinda comes from Mwala in Machakos County.
Mutinda notes that he only decided to try out athletics out of curiosity and it was working out well for him when he joined university.
“May be athletics blood flows in our family since I am told my mother Jane Munyao was once an athlete and my father Peter Munyao played football,” explains Mutinda, a great admirer of 100m and 200m world record holder, Usain Bolt from Jamaica.
