Olympics 1,500m champion Lagat lines up at the Games

Mutwiri Mutuota in New Delhi, India

One of the biggest attractions in Team Kenya makes her appearance at Delhi 2010 this morning during the preliminaries of women 1,500m, in one of the highlights of Day Two athletics programme.

For an event hit by high profile withdraws, the sight of Olympic champion, Nancy Jebet Lagat at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex track will come as a relief for organisers who are still trying to market the 19th Commonwealth Games as a success.

"I will take every race at a time. Being my first Commonwealth Games, I’m seeking to maintain my good form this season," the IAAF Diamond League winner in her race said yesterday.

Lagat, who claimed the top medal at the Beijing Olympics, is counting on her experience to scale the heights in the full knowledge the spotlight is on her.

"I’m under no pressure coming here as an Olympic champion, but I expect everyone to try hard to beat me.

"The most important thing tomorrow (today) is to qualify for the final and then we take it from there," she added.

Lost twice

Coming to Delhi, Lagat has only lost twice in 13 races over the metric mile this season, with her first coming on July 8 when she finished third at the Laussane Diamond League meeting in a career best 4:00.13.

She finished eighth at the IAAF Continental Cup in Split (4:23.93/September 5) while competing for Africa after she was tripped and fell face first as the athletes came for the final 300m.

"I’m over that experience and ready to represent my country," the Armed Forces officer who will also double over 800m owing to the absence of defending champion, Janeth Jepkosgei said.

Among Lagat’s 11 victories this season was the 4:10.43 golden run at the African Championships where she deposed titleholder, Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka with a charged breakaway 250m from the finish.

Bull’s eye

The 2006 World junior champion, Irene Jelagat and her 2004 predecessor Viola Kibiwott, who is marking her return to the Kenyan fold after missing last year’s Berlin Worlds and Nairobi 2010 Africa Athletics Championships, will join Lagat in Team Kenya’s corner.

Mark Mutai and Vincent Mumo, who is also making a comeback to Team Kenya after sitting out Berlin Worlds and Nairobi 2010, will seek qualification to the men’s 400m semis in the afternoon session.

Elsewhere at the games, Shehzana Anwar was knocked out of competition by Singapore’s Leng Khang Cheok in the Recurve Individual Women elimination round of 16 match by a score of 4-0 on Tuesday evening in archery.

Shehzana is a daughter to rally ace Azar Anwar and similar fate visited teammate, Omkar Bali who failed to hit the bull’s eye in an identical 4-0 crushing to Mauritius archer, Jean Marie Babet in a Recurve Individual Men round of 32 elimination clash.