Kenya's Sawe explains medal hopes ahead of C'wealth Games

NAIROBI, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The agony of missing the Olympics and World Championships due to high qualification standards has left Kenyan Mathew Sawe with only the Commonwealth Games to chase a global title.

Sawe, 28, has worked in the shadows of javelin star and Olympic silver medallist Julius Yego, but believes the country's production belt is churning out talented youngsters who will soon dominate the global circuit.

"Ever since Yego broke through to win at the world championships, there has been a change in how the people view field events athletes. It has also pushed the qualification standards high for people like us and we must abide by it.

"But I hope having sat out of Olympic and World Championships, the Commonwealth Games offers me a unique chance to widen the country's medal scope and add on to the haul that middle and long-distance athletes will bring in," said Sawe on Tuesday in Nairobi.

Sawe is targeting the 2:30m mark, which is the entry mark for the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

"I need more power in take-off, that's my area of weakness," said Sawe. "I missed the Olympics and the World Championship because Kenya is an A category and the Commonwealth Games must give me the performance required to qualify for Doha 2019."

This will be Sawe's second attempt at the Commonwealth Games after making his debut in Glasgow, Scotland in 2014, where he picked up a knee injury, barring him from contesting the finals.

"The injury denied me the chance to contest for a medal. But I am fit and in Gold Coast I will give it the best jump," he added.

Sawe has a personal best jump of 2.21m, which he got at the 2015 Africa Championships in Durban, South Africa. Enditem