Olympics trials now moved to Kasarani
Athletics Kenya trials for the Tokyo Olympics will now be held at the Moi International Sports Stadium, Kasarani, Nairobi, on June 17-19.
In a statement issued yesterday, Athletics Kenya said the decision has been necessitated by the need to test the systems and equipment at the stadium in readiness for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships on August 17-22 at the same venue.
“Earlier, the trials had been set for the Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret but after much deliberations and analysis of the current state of events, Moi Stadium seems an appropriate venue for the championships.
“Preparations for the Under-20 championships are ongoing and technical experts have advised that holding the trials at Kasarani will help assess the preparedness ahead of the arrival of World Athletics inspectors in July.
“Athletics Kenya would like to apologise to any stakeholder for any inconvenience by this change and ask the requisite athletes to make prior arrangements to attend the event.
“The trials still remain an invite-only event for those athletes who have thus far attained the qualifying mark for the Olympics in their respective races and fully meet the anti-doping requirements.
“The federation also reminded athletes who are targeting qualification through international competitions to liaise with AK to avoid competing in unsanctioned races.
Meanwhile, Sports Cabinet Minister Amina Mohamed yesterday had fruitful inspection of the Kasarani Stadium exactly 90 days to the opening ceremony of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships.
Amina expressed her satisfaction with what the Local Organising Committee LOC is doing ahead of the junior Championships set for August 17-22 in Nairobi.
“I am sure we are ahead of time in terms of preparations before we can showcase to the whole world what Kenya has to offer in terms of hosting global events,” said Amina.
