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Kenya’s team at the World Relays Championships will have a second opportunity to clinch Olympic tickets on Monday morning after total demolition on the first day of action in the Bahamas.
Kenya’s team at the World Relays Championships have little margin for error heading into the second day of the event following a poor showing on Day 1.
All four teams had it rough on the first day of the event on Sunday morning with the mixed relay, men’s 4x100m, women’s 4x400m finishing last in their heats, while the men’s 4x400m relay team managing a fifth place.
With the top two teams on Day 1 sealing Olympic qualification, the rest, including Kenya, have a chance on Day 2 where the top six teams will join the eight automatic qualifiers from Sunday.
It means Team Kenya must ensure they finish in the top six in their respective heats, a tall order given their performance on Sunday, but one that they have to achieve if they are to seal their place at the Olympics.
There was great hope in the men’s 4x100m team which has Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala, former national champion Mark Otieno, Hesbon Ochieng and Meshack Babu but they finished last in Heat 4 in a time of 39.38 seconds.
Omanyala and Co will have a second crack at Olympics qualification on Monday morning (3.06am Kenyan time) but they are up against stiff competition in Heat 3 with hosts Bahamas, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia and Colombia.
Kenya’s 4x400m mixed relay team will be first in action on Day 2 (2.05am Kenyan time) as they are pooled in Heat 2 that has Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic and India and they can save themselves the blushes with a top six finish.
The team, which has Kennedy Muthoki, Mercy Chebet, Kevin Kipkorir and Maureen Thomas, finished last in Heat 3 on Sunday after clocking 3:19.90, but there will be no margin for error on Day 2.
Kenya’s women’s 4x400m team will be in action at 3.32am Kenyan time, starting in Heat 2, alongside Switzerland, Cuba, Netherlands, Portugal and Botswana seeking to right the wrongs of Day 1 when they also finished last in their heat.
The team, which comprised Joan Cherono, Diana Chebet, Vanice Nyagisera and Rahab Ndirangu, clocked 3:44.62 for their seventh place in Heat 3 but will need to improve to seal their ticket to Paris.
Meanwhile, there is great hope in the men’s 4x400m relay team that finished an impressive fifth in Heat 3 on the first day after clocking a season’s best 3:03.29.
With experienced Wiseman Were and Boniface Mweresa in their ranks, David Sanayok and Brian Kapirante also upped the ante on Sunday morning but will need even better on Monday.
They will be the last on the heats programme on Day 2 (4.08pm Kenyan time) but have stiff competition in Heat 1 against USA, hosts Bahamas, Dominican Republic, India, Qatar and Mexico.
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