10-second penalty denies Irungu slot to UK Games

Josette Njeri in action during the 2022 Commonwealth Games triathlon qualifiers at the the Karen Water Front, Nairobi, on March 13. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

A 10-second rest in the penalty box denied Megan Irungu a slot in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Birmingham, United Kingdom, between July 28 and August 8.

Irungu had earned a place in the Kenya Triathlon team, or so she thought, barely three weeks ago.

But her victory, on March 13, was cut short after fellow athlete Josette Njeri successful lodged an appeal challenging the outcome of the trials staged at the Karen Water Front.

Irungu had come first at the national trials staged in Karen.

This meant that she was to join Njeri, who had already qualified for the Games, and John-Paul Malina, the top two triathletes, who made the cut on World Triathlon wild cards.

The Kenya Triathlon Federation (KTF) was, however, forced to cancel and repeat the women's qualifiers after the panel hearing the case ruled that Irungu had not covered the entire course. This decision gave Aisha Nasser a chance to redeem herself.

Nasser had finished second behind Irungu in Karen.

Had the results been upheld, Nasser, 18, could have missed out on the slots reserved for the two women since Njeri had already grabbed one of the two tickets available, on a wild card.

The federation will also name two reserves, one for each category before handing the team to the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) for preparations.