Kenya’s head coach Robert Ng’isirei says they will field some of the best junior athletes to defend the World Athletics Under 20 Championship title that the country won in Tampere, Finland in 2018.
The national team of 46 athletes (20 women and 26 men) will compete in various events during the August 17-22 event to be held at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
Ng’isirei told Nation Sport Tuesday that training is going on well and there are no injuries in the team, except Emmanuel Lemama, who withdrew from the 1,500m team after getting hurt.
He was replaced by Kamar Etyang, who himself suffered a setback when he was dropped from the just-concluded Tokyo Olympic Games due to the Athletics Integrity Unit rules.
“We have a strong team for the global event. We are confident that the team will deliver results,” said Ng’isirei who was also the head coach in Tampere.
The team has been doing early morning long runs at Karura Forest before shifting to Kasarani for speed work.
“The long runs are meant to build endurance and speeed work is essential for the athletes so that they are well equipped for their assignment,” he said.
Ng’isirei said that they have been monitoring their opponents’ performance since some have posted good times.
He asked Kenyans to support the athletes during the championships which is being held in Kenya for the first time since its inception in 1986 in Athens, Greece.
Ng’isirei is being assisted by Andrew Maritim, who is in charge of sprints, Dennis Odongo, Maryline Lasoi and Dennis Muthusi.