Ready for gold:Kenyan youths hunt first medals in Ukraine Wednesday

By JONATHAN KOMEN

Nairobi,Kenya:Kenyan youth begin title bid at the eighth World Youth Championships at the RSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Donetsk, Ukraine, today.

Kenya were second overall at the last edition in France, where United States topped the table.

On Tuesday, Africa Youth 1,500m champion Robert Kiptoo Biwott was picked alongside Australian Matthew Denny – current World Youth leader at discus throw and second best at hammer  Morgan Lake of Great Britain – current World Youth leader at Heptathlon – for events’ press interviews.

World junior 3,000m champion Mercy Chebwogen and Lilian Kasait are, however, expected to dominate in the 3,000m final tonight (9.00pm local time).

The two girls are out to reclaim the title Kenya lost to Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslase, who ran a then world-leading time of 8:56.36 at the 2011 World Youth Championships at Lille Metropolle Stadium in France.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  Firm linked to fake fertiliser calls for arrest of Linturi, NCPB boss
• 
  Explainer: How to apply for Youth Enterprise Fund
• 
  Sunak announces raised defence spending, new Ukraine aid
• 
  Gikomba gold rush: Banks scramble for a slice of Nairobi's street hustle

Chebwogen and Kasait, a Standard Seven pupil at Footstep AC Primary School in Pokot South, are keen to put Kenya on the medal table and reclaim title.

With the world junior crown, Chebwogen stands high chances of joining the elite club of ‘triple’ gold medalists in the three IAAF global track and field championships – World Youth, World Junior and World Championships.

Six-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt is the only member of the elite club to have won his World junior gold before his World Youth title.

He won the 2002 World junior 200m title at aged 15, one year before triumphing over the same distance at the World Youth Championships.

In 2011 in Lille, France, Kenyan boys took two medals in each of the four distance events. They won gold in three of them and came close to making it a perfect sweep, missing out by just 0.04sec in the 1500m.

In the last three editions, Kenya have won gold in three out of the four distance events. They will be out to go one better this week, but Eritrean 800m runner Tsegay Tesfamariam could spoil the party.

Alfred Keter, a Form Two Student at Kosirai High in Nandi Central, will join forces with Africa Youth bronze medalist Patrick Rono in today’s qualifying rounds at 8:20pm.

Rono, a KCSE candidate at Kiptome High in Kuresoi, will renew rivalry with Eritrea’s Tsegay Tesfamarian whom he beat at the Africa contest in Warri, Nigeria in March.