By Feverpitch Reporter
A star-studded field is expected to feature in the Kenya Police Athletics Championships which starts Thursday at the Moi International sports centre, Kasarani.
Most of the Kenya Police elite runners are expected to feature in the two-day meet as they look for a good start to the season.
The event is the third of the disciplined force’s championships and comes after the National Prisons and Armed Forces competitions. The highlight of the event will no doubt be in the 800m where top names are expected to compete.
World champion David Rudisha will be the biggest attraction in the men’s 800m event, especially after running an impressive 1:43.10 in the opening leg of the Diamond Samsun League in Doha last Friday.
In the women’s category, all eyes will be on Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo who also won her speciality in Doha with an impressive time of 1:56.94.
It has been a great come-back for Jelimo whose performance went down after she won the golden jackpot four years ago.
Her come-back includes winning the World Indoor championships held in Turkey early this year and another victory on home soil will do well to build her morale ahead of the national trials.
Denied opportunity
The 3,000m world bronze medalist Milcah Chemos will not be available for the championships as she is competing out of the country.
Fans will also be denied an opportunity for a showdown between Ezekiel Kemboi, the 3,000m steeple-chase world champion and commonwealth games champion Richard Mateelong, as the two athletes have opted for different races.
Mateelong will take part in the 1,500m where he is attempting to build speed while Kemboi will feature in the 5,000m race.
Kenya Police coach Nicholas Kirisio said Athletics Kenya has declined to release to them several long distance runners who are in Eldoret preparing for the 10,000m trials in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States of America on June 2.
“Our request to have them in the trials has been rejected because they have less than one week to go before the trials,” he said.
AK has changed the mode of selection for the 10,000m and athletes will not take part in the USA trials. This has been done in a bid to improve Kenya’s medal prospects in the long distance event where the country has not won medals at major events of late.
