Kenyan contingent departs for Africa Senior Athletics Championships in Cameroon
Athletics Kenya has flagged off athletes who will represent the country at the African Senior Championships to be staged in Douala, Cameroon.
Consisting of 59 athletes, the Kenyan team will field two participants across each event when the 23rd edition of the championships gets underway on Friday, June 21, 2024.
Kenya 2022 Champions
Kenya emerged the winner of the 22nd African Senior Athletics Championships held at the Côte d’Or National Sports Complex in Mauritius with 10 gold medals, five silver, and eight bronze medals.
Kenyan sprinters will be eyeing Olympic qualifying times but will be under pressure from South Africa and Botswana who have included Letsile Tebogo in their team for the championships. Tebogo, who has threatened to run Africa’s fastest time, will compete in the 100, 200, and the 4x100m relays, in his first competition since the LA Grand Prix in May. 
In the absence of Ferdinand Omanyala who posted the world-leading 9.7 at the National trials, Mark Otieno and Meshack Babu will be aiming to run a sub 10.00s to punch their tickets to Paris in the 100m while Mike Mokamba will lead the 200m alongside Samuel Chege.
African games gold medalist Brian Komen will lead the men’s 1500m charge after a fantastic season that saw him run a personal best of 3:32.29 in Nairobi. Komen finished runner-up at the Sparkassen Indoor Meeting in Dortmund, before finishing eighth and fourth respectively at the Czech Indoor Gala in Prague and at the Metz Moselle Athleor in France. He will be joined by Boaz Kiprugut in Kenya’s search for glory in the mile-long race.
Julius Yego, also the winner in the Javelin men’s category in the 2022 edition will be aiming for an Olympic spot after coming short in the recently concluded National trials at Nyayo Stadium.
Mary Ekiru, who finished third at the African Games in March, will partner Caroline Nyaga who won gold in 10,000m at the 2022 African championships in the women’s 1500m.
Mercy Chepkemoi and Teresiah Muthoni will take charge in the women’s 5000m in the absence of Champion Beatrice Chebet while Stanley Waithaka and Levy Kibet will form part of the the men’s field.
Three-time Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) Champion Margaret Gati will be Kenya’s sole representative in the women’s 20km race walk while Heristone Wanyonyi will fly the Kenyan flag in the men’s category.
The event is set to begin on Friday, June 21, 2024, and end on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
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