ALL EYES ON BAHAMAS : Mixed results at Athletics Kenya relays as athletes focus on IAAF World Relays

Boniface Kagai recieves the baton from Mark Otieno during 100 x 400 the Relays championship

The second leg of Athletics Kenya relays produced a bag of mixed results as campaigns for a place to the second IAAF World Relays Championships set for Nassau, Bahamas, on May 2nd-3rd, intensified.

Olympians in 400m Joyce Zachary, Fransisca Koki and Alphas Kishoyian posted brilliant results even as Alex Sampao, fresh from winning 400m silver medal at the 12th Africa Junior Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last week, stretched his impressive shows at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani yesterday.

Sampao, fourth at the IAAF World Junior Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last year, fired warning shots to his rivals as he won his heat without much fuss in 47.1 seconds.

Stanely Kieti (47.4), Raymond Kibet (48.2) and Gerald Momanyi (48.6) came in second, third and fourth, while Simon Bwoga (50.1), a member of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games squad, returned fifth.

Sampao, who completed Fourth Form at Kirobon Secondary School in Nakuru County last year, said: “I could not post my best timing here because of fatigue. I arrived from Ethiopia, then went home and I have not trained. I have not hit my top form either, but I focus on making the team to Bahamas all the same.”

“We need to attain the qualifying mark early enough to allow us prepare well. But we are missing Boniface Mucheru, who is a strong man. I hope Alphas Kishoyian, Solomon Bwoga and Boniface Mweresa will be in good shape to help us form a strong team."

In another heat, Kishoyian comfortably won in 46.5 ahead of Joseph Pogisho (48.0) and Moses Kertich (48.4), who was in the Moscow Worlds squad.

Kishoyian, who marked his entry into global contest with a silver medal at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Lille, France is "happy to be back in active competition again. I had attended the military training in Recruits Training School in Eldoret and my form is picking on well. We need a medal in Bahamas.”

Former Commonwealth Games 400m champion Mark Mutai (49.9) bowed to Michael Makan (47.0) in heat three, while Boniface Mweresa (47.1), Kiprono Kosgei (48.8) and Lawrence Kanyi (49.5) topped heat four.

In the women’s category, Commonwealth Games 400m semi finalist Jacinta Shikanda (55.8) led Damaris Imbongo (56.3), Emily Cherotich (56.6) and Uganda’s Agnes Aneno (57.4) in heat one.

Fransisca Koki (55.2) oozed pure class as she led in heat two ahead of Daisy Komen (55.4), Alubo Rita (59.6) and Margaret Ng’ang’a (62.4). Eunice Kadogo (12.1) topped 100m timings.