AK agonises over 800m duo Rotich and Rudisha

2016 Rio Olympics - Athletics - Final - Men's 800m Final - Olympic Stadium - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 15/08/2016. David Lekuta Rudisha (KEN) of Kenya runs to win gold.

Athletics Kenya was last evening expected to whittle down the men’s 800m men squad for London Worlds from five to four.

Officials were locked in a meeting to deliberate on the fate of two athletes as teams prepares to leave for the biennial championships.

AK named the top three to cross the line – Emmanuel Korir, Kipyegon Bett, and Michael Saruni – alongside defending champion David Rudisha and 2016 IAAF Diamond League Trophy winner Ferguson Rotich in the London-bound squad.

Rudisha and Rotich have wild cards to the 16th IAAF World Athletics Championships scheduled for August 4-12.

Entry standards

The IAAF qualification system and entry standards read: “The IAAF will accept the participation of the current reigning world outdoor champion and that of the winner of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League (in the corresponding World Championships event) and hammer throw challenge, as wild cards, in each individual event, on the condition that the athlete in question is entered by his federation.

“If both are from the same country, only one of the two can be entered with this Wild Card. If a member federation has four athletes in one event as a result of this regulation, all four will be permitted to compete.”

Yesterday, the AK vice president in charge of competitions, Paul Mutwii, said they would discuss in detail ways to whittle down the squad.

“We have a meeting for that today (last evening) and I am sure we will come up with the final list,” said Mutwii.

Korir has season best time of 1:43.73 in 800m and 44.53 in 400m, which is the world leading time this season. Saruni, based in the US, has 1:44.61 in 800m and 45.69 in 400m while Bett boasts 1:43.76 in 800m.

Selectors will scratch their heads to decide between Rudisha and Rotich, though there were reports that Saruni would be prevailed upon to step down to 400m.

David Rudisha’s brilliance in the 800m race shows a steady evolution in Kenyan athletics in the past five decades.

Rudisha was the first Kenyan to win the prestigious IAAF World Athlete of the Year award in 2010 and has won a record three consecutive Track and Field Athlete of the Year awards as he tied with Carl Lewis.

Rudisha is known to be ‘a championship athlete’ as he performs better in championships than IAAF Diamond League meetings.

Rotich beat Rudisha in the Shanghai and Stockholm Diamond League meetings last year. He was a high jumper at the nationals while a pupil at Kejiriet Primary School in Kericho County.

Rotich finished fourth at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, the Africa Senior Championships in Morocco, and the Beijing Worlds.

Rotich started competitive running in 2012 and has come a long way.