Huge pay cheque for relay winners

By GILBERT KOECH and IAAF

World Relay Championships team will have a reason to smile as International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) confirmed a hefty prize purse worth Sh11 million is up for grabs.

IAAF says the inaugural event deserves a high status setting the trend for the coming events. The carribean challenge brings together over 600 world best sprints and middle distance athletes on board in an event that will act as a qualifier for coming World Championships and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The prizes monies will be awarded to all top eight athletes with winners in both men and women races taking home Sh4m, runners-up bagging Sh2.7m and third place getting Sh1.6m.

Fourth finishers will rake in Sh960,000, fifth place Sh800,000, sixth place Sh640,000 with seventh and eight placed bagging Sh480,000 and Sh320,000 respectively.

The icing on the cake goes to any quartet who will break any world record as they will get (Sh4 million), the amount that will also go to the winners. The payment of prize monies will be dependent on athletes passing the mandatory dope tests.

The IAAF announcement comes barely two days after Safaricom promised to award Sh1million for gold, Sh600,000 for silver and Sh400,000 for bronze.

The Kenyan team is led by sprinter Mark Mutai.