Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala and world 800m champion Mary Moraa have been named in Team Kenya for the World Athletics Relay Championships scheduled for May 10 to 11 in Guangzhou, China.
Also to earn wildcards to the team are former national 100m champion and record holder Mark Otieno and Kip Keino Classic 400m hurdles champion Wiseman Were.
Athletics Kenya (AK) named the team of 21 athletes and six officials after the one-day national trials at the Nyayo National Stadium on Saturday.
AK President Jack Tuwei said the team will proceed for residential training on Tuesday next week and will either train at the Ulinzi Sports Complex or the Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani warm up track.
Omanyala, Otieno and Were missed the trials as they were in Botswana for the Botswana Golden Grand Prix that took place yesterday at the National Stadium, Gaborone.
Omanyala will team up with five other sprinters in the 4x100m team that includes his younger brother Isaac Omurwa, Otieno and the national trials 100m winner Meshack Babu. The others are Moses Onyango Wasike and Steve Onyango.
Maiden world championships
Omanyala, Otieno and Babu were in the team for last year’s world relays that were held in Nassau, Bahamas. The team failed to go past the first round.
Moraa is fresh from the Grand Slam Track that took place in Kingston, Jamaica where she fell ill after competing in 800m.
Moraa, the Olympic 800m bronze medalist, who is also the national 400m record holder, is among the eight athletes that will make the women’s 4x400m and the 4x400m mixed relay teams.
Moraa’s team has former national 400m champion Mercy Oketch, who finished second behind Uganda’s Shida Leni in women’s 400m final, Mercy Chebet and surprise pack, the national 100m and 200m champion Esther Mbagari.
Interestingly, Mbagari finished fourth in 52.89 behind Leni (51.25), Oketch (51.64) and Koech (52.78) in trials that saw the return to the team of former national 400m champion and record holder Hellen Syombua.
“It’s simply amazing to make the team for my maiden world championships,” said Mbagari. "This is a chance for me to make more improvement in every department- speed and endurance.”
Syombua’s protégée Gladys Mumbe and the 2019 African Games 400m hurdles champion Venice Kerubo also made the tentative squad of eight athletes.
Hoping for better tidings
Kerubo is the only surviving member of the 4x400m team that participated at the world relays last year, failing to go past the first round.
Syombua and Oketch are making a comeback - Syombua from maternity leave that took long and Oketch from Kenya Defence Forces recruit Training School.
Were, Boniface Mweresa, Brian Tinega and David Sanayek make return to the team, hoping for better tidings after the 4x400m team failed to reach the final. The team also has the trials winner Kelvin Kipkorir and Allan Kipyego.
Kipkorir, Mercy Chebet and Tinega were in the 4x400m mixed relay team that also failed to go past the first round.
“We are hopeful that things will work for us this time around after last year’s failed attempt,” said Kipkorir, who is making his fourth appearance for Kenya.
“We had two athletes with 45.8 last year but we have several with better times 45.7 and below,” said Kipkorir, who won the trials with 45.24 followed by Tinega with 45.73.
