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World Half Marathon and 10K silver medalist Daniel Ebenyo will not take part in the Athletics Kenya National Trials after he opted out of the 5,000m race.

Ebenyo who was poised to lead the Kenyan 10,000m team to Paris, given his impressive form this season, missed out on automatic qualification after finishing 8^th at the Prefontaine Classic meet in Oregon.

His dismal performance was however partly blamed on complications in his travel arrangements that saw Ebenyo arrive in Oregon two days before the race, which according to AK executive committee member Barnaba Korir would give him enough time to rest ahead of the race.

“Every athlete that was supposed to be there made it. Ebenyo made it there two days prior to the competition so he had an opportunity for two days to rest, which normally is between two and three days for an athlete to rest before the day of the competition,” Korir explained.

Despite calls from various factions to have Ebenyo included as the third member of the men’s 10k team to Paris, it was Bernard Kibet, who finished third in the trials in Oregon who got the nod from AK to complete the three-man lineup.

Ebenyo opts out

Only a wild card from AK can guarantee a ticket in the 5,000m race for Ebenyo after he pulled out of the National trials start list. The race however boasts of a strong field in Ishmael Kipkurui, the 2023 World Cross Country Junior Champion, Jacob Krop, the World 5000m Bronze Medalist, and Stanley Waithaka Mburu, the 2022 World 10,000m Silver Medalist.

Ebenyo, the 2024 Berlin Half Marathon winner has previously considered ditching the track for road in 2019 after missing out on the world championships, floating many questions about his return to track after his recent move.

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