Kinyamal reaches final as late entrant Tuwei exits
Defending champion Wycliffe Kinyamal yesterday sailed through to the final of men’s 800m but late entrant Cornelius Tuwei exited the games hours after he was cleared to compete.
Tuwei was only allowed to compete on Tuesday night after organisers of the Commonwealth Games accepted his controversial late entry to replace World Under-20 champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi. “Psychologically I was not in the race, I was only confirmed late on Tuesday night after I had resigned that I was not going to compete. I also twisted my leg during the race, I won’t say the two cases are related, but I know everything that happened affected me,” said Tuwei after the race where he finished fourth in heat two in a time of 1:48.86 at the ongoing Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium on Wednesday.
Riegning champion Kinyamal needed to dig dip to finish second in heat three in 1:48.15 to qualify for the final on Sunday.Ben Pattison from England won the heat in 1:48.00.
The the third Kenyan Julius Ngeny also fell short in their quest for the final.He settled for third in heat one in 1:49.53 to exit the Games. Jamie Webb from England triumphed in 1:48.86 as Guy Learmonth of Scotland came second in 1:49.15 to all make the final.
“I had to pull out something after watching my colleagues performance. I knew it was going to be tough with two automatic qualifiers,” said Kinyamal, who is now focused on defending his title.
“It feels good to make the final. I had some back problems at the World Championships but I feel must better now,” explained Kinyamal.
Meanwhile, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) yesterday released a statement following the late entries of Tuwei and failure to enter steeplechaser Amos Kirui into the team, his place taken by Abraham Kibiwot.
Tuwei had on Tuesday in an interview with People Sport bemoaned about his condition since arriving in Birmingham last Saturday.
“Sometimes I use a fake accreditation to access the canteen where accredited athletes eat from, sometimes friends sneak me in or or get just enough food to share with me. It is unfortunate living like this.It is difficult to eat because I got no accreditation,” Tuwei had shared about his predicaments.
According to the statement from Chef De Mission, Team Kenya Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
John Ogolla the men’s steeplechase scheduled for Saturday, will see title holder Conseslus Kipruto carry Kenya’s flag alongside World Under-20 champion Amos Serem and 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Kibiwot.
Kibowot, who is fresh from finishing 5th at the Oregon World Championships was to be replaced by Kirui, but it was too late to make the changes. While Kirui was already in Birmingham, Kibiwott was expected to arrive in England on Wednesday. “The entries follow further consultations from the Team Kenya Management with the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) that manages sports entries at the top level before handing over to the respective International Federation,” read part of the statement
