Mureithi soars high to win 10,000m at Nyandarua’s school games

Sam Mureithi won the 10,000m boys race during the Ol Joroorok zone Secondary Schools athletics championships held at the Nyahururu stadium at the weekend.

Despite being dressed like a footballer, the Form Four student at Kanguu Secondary School overlapped many runners forcing them out of the race. The rule was that once overlapped one had to drop out.

In second position was Mureithi’s schoolmate Peter Mwangi who trailed by 200 metres.

Hannah Kariuki of Weru secondary won the girls 10,000m ahead of Ruta Waruini of Gikingi secondary.

The competition was for the selection of a zonal team for the Nyandarua County schools’ Term One games competition set for this weekend in Nyahururu.

The competition that marked full resumption of schools sporting activities after Covid-19 disruption showed a rusty organization as no teacher remembered to carry stopwatch thus forcing the athletics races to lack timings. Bid to time the events using smart phones proved futile.

“I think the long period of stoppage of sporting activities due to Covid-19 had made the sports teachers to forget officiating requirements they have leant,” said an athletics coach who attended the competition to scout for good runners to recruit into his training camp.

Joshua Mathu of Hospital Hill secondary school who won boys 5,000m race attracted attention of the scouts because he exhibited better running ability which Coach Francis Kamau said can be polished for him to become an international runner.

Mathu was followed by team mate Bernard Mwangi. Ann Njeri and Mary Mugure, both of Ol Joroorok secondary won the girls 5,000m in that order.

The students showed excitement at the resumption of sporting activities by wildly cheering their competing colleagues and even escorting them all the way to the finishing line.

Some were even splashing water on their racing colleagues to cool them from the scorching sun.