Kipruto,Yego and Sawe lead Kenya’s medal hunt

Kenya's Conseslus Kipruto celebrates after winning the athletics men's 3000m steeplechase final during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games at the Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast on April 13, 2018. / AFP PHOTO /

Olympic 3,000m steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto lines up in the finals today longing to open Kenya’s medal account as the 21st Africa Senior Athletics Championships enters Day Three in Asaba, Nigeria.

The 23-year-old Kipruto has been in tip-top form in the water and barriers race in the past two years -winning Olympic Games, World Athletics Championships, IAAF Diamond League Trophy and the Commonwealth Games. He now longs to pick the bragging rights to the IAAF Inter-continental Championships set for Ostrava, Czech Republic, on September 8-9.

Kipruto will marshal forces with Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Amos Kirui and Kennedy Njiru in the west African nation.

“The journey has not been easy. We hope for the best and I know we can deliver good results. I am hoping to lead the team to success like I did in Gold Coast (Australia) and make Kenyans proud,” said Kipruto.

Julius Yego, the 2015 world javelin champion and a two-time Africa champion, leads compatriot Alex Kiprotich in the finals today.

Yego, the Olympic silver medalist, thirsts for a third bite at the cherry having won the continental championships in Porto-Novo, Benin, in 012 and in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2014.

“I am confident that I can perform well. I have been training a lot and despite the challenges we underwent when we got here, we shall will come out victorious. I have won it before and I am here once again to show the world that I can still win,” said Yego.

Another final on the cards inside Stephen Keshi Stadium in the Delta State’s Asaba is men’s high jump where Kenya’s national record-holder Mathew Sawe seeks to defend the title he won two years ago in Durban, South Africa.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Africa Athletics (CAA) on Monday announced plans to start an annual one-day Africa tour meeting, which is similar to the IAAF Diamond League, in order to provide more competition for the continent’s athletes.

CAA President Hamad Malboum Kalkaba said the African Tour will help expose African talent. Currently, only Rabat in Morocco hosts one of the 14-tier IAAF Diamond League meetings. The African Tour will seek to have the best African talent on show.