Fate of 5000m athletes yet to be known

What you need to know:

  • Tuwei was non committal whether Kenya will be represented by one athlete or the country would be allowed to pick two fresh athletes in the event AIU fails to clear Kibet and Simiyu.
  • AK had invoked Rule 15 of IAAF which provides a window for such situations where an unknown athlete, or talent, crops up and isn’t in the AIU testing pool. Kibet and Simiyu fit in the category.

The participation of two athletes from Kenya in men’s 5,000 metres race at the World Championships still hangs in a balance.

Michael Kibet and Daniel Simiyu finished first and second respectively in men’s 5,000m during the national trials last week but were not named in Team Kenya for the World event.

Kibet and Simiyu failed to meet some of the anti-doping requirements put in place by Athletes Integrity Unit (AIU) and were left out of the team on Friday as Athletics Kenya (AK) picking only one athlete, Nicholas Kimeli, who finished third during the trials at Nyayo National Stadium.

The World Championships are due from September 27 to October 6 in Doha. AK president Jackson Tuwei said on Tuesday the federation was still waiting for clearance from AIU to know what to do next even after the deadline for submission of entries to the World event elapsed Monday midnight.

Tuwei was non committal whether Kenya will be represented by one athlete or the country would be allowed to pick two fresh athletes in the event AIU fails to clear Kibet and Simiyu.

AK had invoked Rule 15 of IAAF which provides a window for such situations where an unknown athlete, or talent, crops up and isn’t in the AIU testing pool. Kibet and Simiyu fit in the category.

The regulations require those hoping to compete at the World Championships to have undergone three out-of-competition and one in-competition doping tests.

The three out-of-competition tests for both urine and blood must include at least one Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) test and one Erythropoietin (EPO) test. All such tests are to be conducted not less than three weeks apart and the results recorded in Anti-Doping Administration and Management System.

Kakamega Marathon

Meanwhile, the fifth edition of the Kakamega Marathon will take place in Kakamega County on November 30, with organisers optimistic that number of participants will rise by about 500 to hit 2,000.

Speaking on Tuesday at the launch, co-ordinator George Murila said plans are underway for athletes to undergo random doping tests. The registration fee is Sh1,500. Once registered, an athlete can choose to compete in the 42km race, 21km, 15km, and bicycle races involving adults and juniors.

“This marathon is part of a wider project to sensitise participants on the need to protect indigenous forests. Kakamega Forest has over the years been exploited and if measures are not put in place to control this, we may lose it,” said Murila. There will be a tree planting session during the event.

Winners of 42km races will each pocket Sh500,000, with 21km winners taking home Sh250,000. Prizes will trickle down to the top 10.