This archive report was first published on 2 September 2019.
Kenyan athletes have been on a whirlwind tour of local and international competitions in the 2018-2019 season, with the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, just around the corner.
According to Athletics Kenya (AK), the season kicked off with the AK Cross-Country circuit, which culminated in the World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark on March 30.
Following the cross-country championships, the Relay series took center stage, with the selection of Kenya's team for the World Relay Championships held in Yokohama, Japan on May 11-12.
The focus then shifted to the three Track and Field series held in Nyeri, Mumias, and Narok between May 4 and June 8.
Immediately after the Narok meet, athletes gathered at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, for the African Games trials held between June 20-22.
AK affiliates, including disciplined forces, as well as regions, later retreated to select their teams for the national championships.
The nationals were eventually held from August 20-22, with some African Games-bound athletes having to board a plane to Morocco on August 23, the same night they concluded the nationals.
Although some big stars may have missed majority of the local races, including the trials for African Games, they have also been engaged in Diamond Leagues or other races globally.
Kenya's athletes at the African Games bagged 10 gold medals, seven silver, and three bronze, but the team struggled in some races, notably the 10,000m for men and women.
Kenya's head coach, Julius Kirwa, attributed the struggles to the short recovery time between the national championships and the African Games.
“We knew that it was not possible to get medals in 10km because these athletes just came from trials almost four days to this (African Games) championships. They didn’t have enough time for recovery,” said Kirwa.
After the Rabat show, athletes now have a week to prepare for the trials to select team Kenya for the World Championships, bar the 10k athletes whose trials were held during the national championships with the trials slated for September 12-13.
At the African Games, quite a number of athletes pulled out of their races citing different injuries, an incident that left Kirwa concerned.
“While we were coming here (Morocco) no one was complaining of injury but during the competition almost everyone had an injury. This is something we are going to look into when we return home because for me, I cannot tell it is up to the team doctors now to dwell on the issue,” he said.
