Africa's fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala/ FILENational sprints coach Stephen Mwaniki has tipped Kenya’s speed merchants to break new ground at the Tokyo World Championships, predicting a bumper harvest of medals from the country’s largest sprint delegation in history.
From the list of 61 athletes set to represent Kenya in Tokyo, 21 of them will be taking part in the sprint events. This includes the individual sprints and the team (relay) races.
Part of the stars in the individual events include Africa's fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala (100m), national champion Mercy Oketch (400m), Wiseman Were (400m hurdles), as well as Kelvin Kipkorir, George Mutinda and Brian Tinega in the men's 400m.
The 4x100m relay squad includes Omanyala, Steve Odhiambo, Meshack Babu, Mark Otieno, Dennis Mwai, Clinton Aluvi and Isaac Omurwa. The men's 4x400m and 4x400m mixed squad is made up of Allan Kipyego, Boniface Mweresa, Zablon Ekwam, Dennis Masika, David Sanayek, Kelvin Kiprotich, Mercy Chebet, Lanoline Aoko and Esther Mbagari.
The sprints have historically been a hard hunting ground for Kenya at the global showpiece. Samson Kitur opened the country’s medal account with a bronze over 400m in Stuttgart 1993 when he clocked 44.54.
The only Kenyan to have won gold at the World Championships was the late Nicholas Bett when he stormed to a World title in the 400m hurdles in Beijing 2015. In that race, he clocked a then world-leading time and national record of 47.79 to lead Russia's Denis Kudryavtsev (48.05) and Jeffery Gibson (48.17).
Since then, Kenya has struggled to make the podium. However, for this year's edition, Mwaniki is confident that the squad of 21 can deliver glory in Tokyo. "With the sprints we expect to get medals for the country, so long as Kenya doesn't mind the colour of medals, I can promise we will bring medals to the country," Mwaniki said.
He underlined that this is the fastest sprint unit Kenya has ever assembled. "This is the first time we are sending such a big group with athletes who are running very fast. We have three athletes who have run 44 seconds in the 400m this season alone," he added.
He further stated that Tokyo offers a perfect platform for the country to strike for medals. "The team is strong and we believe this is the right team for the country. This is also the right time to strike medals for the country," he added.
Mwaniki views Tokyo not only as a medal opportunity but also as a stepping stone toward long-term dominance. "This is a long journey, and it's a good preparation for the LA 2028 Olympics. In four years, we might surprise the world because we have proven we can also produce sprinters," he added.
For the relays, Mwaniki pointed to Kenya’s breakout at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, where the team went toe-to-toe with global powerhouses. "When we were in China, we were competing against the big boys, but we showed we can go toe-to-toe with them."
He noted that it will be a major achievement if the 4x100m squad can book a slot in the finals. "The best achievement in the 4x100m is to be in the finals. From there, we can see how to plot for medals."
