Kenyan athletes post mixed results in Japan show

Police's Joan Cherono [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Kenyans could not advance past the preliminary rounds in two events as the IAAF World Relays Championships started in Yokohama, Japan, yesterday.

The team failed to improve on the 2015 and 2016 shows in The Bahamas even as the world's biggest economies continued to rule the roost.

Kenya’s Aaron Koech, Hellen Syombua, Maureen Thomas and Jared Momanyi set a national record of 3:16.90 to qualify for today’s final. They will be up against Poland, USA, Italy, Canada, Belgium and Brazil.  

The women’s 4x400m event that had Thomas, Hellen Syombua, Niviah Michira and Gladys Nthenya failed to go past the heats as they finished fifth in 3:31.26. Poland, Britain and Switzerland qualified for the finals.

In 2x2x400m final, Kenya was disqualified after Eglay Nalyanya stepped out of the lane during the final baton exchange with Collins Kipruto as USA (3:36.92) grabbed gold while Australia timed 3:37.61 to win silver. Hosts Japan (3:38.36) settled for bronze.

Kenya lines up men's and women's 4x200m teams in the heats as the two-day championships ends today.

Millicent Ndoro, Eunice Kadogo, Fresha Mwangi, Joan Cherono and Diana Chebet will line up in women’s 4x200m. The quartet of Ndoro, Kadogo, Mwangi and Cherono won silver medal in 4x100m at the 2018 African Athletics Championships in Asaba, Nigera.

Kenyan men's 4x200m squad that comprises Mark Otieno, Mike Mokamba, Dan Kiviasi, Samuel Chege and Alphas Kishoyian long to go past the heats.  

They will face tough opposition from USA, which has fielded a team with two sub-20 seconds in 200m race.

The 400m specialist Vernon Norwood, a world 4x400m champion indoors, steps down in distance.

Meanwhile, Athletics Kenya has responded to controversy surrounding the dropping of two female sprinters from the IAAF World Relays squad.

AK said they dropped 100m and 200m champion Maximilla Imali and 400m runner Evangeline Makena after their blood tests showed high levels of testosterone.

The decision to axe them came after South Africa’s Caster Semenya lost a court challenge against plans to force some women to regulate their testosterone levels.

Last week, the Court of Arbitration for Sports ruled that female athletes with elevated testosterone will have to take suppressive treatment if they wish to compete as women in certain events.

“We could not risk traveling with the two athletes after the recent IAAF ruling on the restriction of testosterone levels on female runners took effect on May 8,” Athletics Kenya director of competitions Paul Mutwii said yesterday.