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Hunt for Beijing Worlds qualification inspires Kenyan relay team

Xinhua, April 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Kenya relays team head coach Sammy Rono is hopeful his team, especially the quartet running the 4x400m competition, will excel in Bahamas this weekend to secure the qualifying time for Beijing World Championships.

Kenya team, departs on Wednesday for Nassau, Bahamas, is optimistic that it will dominate the medley relays and also makes inroads in the sprints competitions, especially the 4x200m and 4x400m relays events.

"Our target is to get a team qualifying for the World Championships in Beijing. They ran well in Nairobi during the national trials, with Botswana and Nigeria athletes pushing them to the limit," Rono said in Nairobi on Monday.

"I hope the same will be done in Bahamas and we get top countries in sprints like China, U.S. and Jamaica to help inspire our athletes run faster," said the coach.

To qualify for the Beijing World Championships in the 4x400m distance, Kenyan athletes must aim higher to finish as one of the first eight placed teams in Bahamas. The other option is to be one of the best ranked teams at the end of the qualification period on August 10.

The Kenya 4x400m relay team has Elphas Kishoyan, Africa junior silver medalist Alex Sampao, Boniface Mwesesa, Michael Makan and newcomer Raymond Kibet.

"I have a young and focused team. They are ready to showcase the world, we have come of age. I believe their time (3:03:88 for men) was fast enough and they can challenge any team," said sprints coach Steven Mwaniki.

Mwaniki also said that the introduction of U.S. based-Carvin Nkanata in the 4x200m team will boost the country's performance.

Nkanata ran a world leading time of 20.14 seconds (with a wind speed of +1.9) in Florida on April 18. The 24-year-old will now join Geoffrey Kiprotich, Pius Muia and Michael Mokamba for the race in Bahamas.

"He will be joining us in Bahamas. We saw what he did and that is a positive sign of good things to come. We will exploit his speed and help boost the team," said Mwaniki.

It means Nkanata's time puts him as one of the qualified sprinters for the 200m distance at the World Championships in Beijing. The qualification standard for the Beijing worlds is 20. 50 seconds. Endite