Hammer throwers Abunda, Rakamba aim for the skies

Kenya’s hammer throwers Dominic Abunda and Roseline Rakamba will have one thing in common when Africa Senior Athletics Championships is held from August 1 to 5 in Asaba, Nigeria. Besides improving their personal bests with 2019 World Championships qualifying standards, the two towering athletes from Kisii will be targeting continental glory in the Delta State.

After a record-breaking throw at the Commonwealth Games in April, Abunda, a Kenya Defence Forces officer, is now targeting continental glory while Kenya Police Service’s Rakamba is also eyeing victory in the women’s event.

Interestingly, Rakamba, 27, only embraced hammer throw this season, having dominated to win the national discus titles back-to-back from 2014 to 2017.

Abunda believes that he has gained the much need experience in skills especially speed to catapult him to a podium finish in Asaba.

Abunda reached the final at the Gold Coast “Club Games” to finish 16th overall, improving on his national record with a distance of 61.38m.

Abunda thought he had improved on his personal best to 62.45m during the National-cum-Africa Championships trials only for that distance not to be ratified.

The result couldn’t be recorded as official since the throw was not made inside the cage enclosure.

“Competition was stiff in Gold Coast but I improved greatly on my movement and speed, having learnt a lot from by rivals,” said Abunda, who wants field events athletes to be exposed to quality competition.

Abunda said celebrity field athletes like Kenya’s former World, Commonwealth and Africa javelin thrower Julius Yego and Africa high jump champion Mathew Sawe would not have improved if they didn’t relocated to Finland and France respectively for specialised training.

"In Gold Coast, my rivals held different weights to train with while I had only one, but that aside, it was a good experience and a stepping stone for me,” said Abunda, who represented Kenya for the first time during the 2011 Africa Junior Championships where he finished fifth.

"We lack specialised diet and gym equipment for throwers in Kenya.” Abunda, who has reigned in Kenya to clinch the national and KDF titles for four consecutive years, has been a hammer thrower since Form One in 2008 at St Peter’s Suneka, Kisii.

He still holds the National Secondary Schools record of 55m posted in 2011.

"My ultimate target is to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games after the 2019 Doha World Championships," said Abunda.

"This presents a good opportunity to shoot for the big stage,” said Rakamba, who will be out to improve on her personal best of 53.78 hauled during the nationals to qualify for the African event.

"That experience in Asaba will be enough to inspire and help me improve. I will definitely learn something from there by just watching how some of the world’s best throwers do their business,” said Rakamba, who pointed out that lack of facilities was a major handicap facing field event athletes in Kenya.

"We lack the field and other vital hammer throw implements. You cannot just train anywhere," said Rakamba.

Team Kenya is currently in camp at Kasarani. They will fly out of Nairobi on July 30 for the Championship.

Kenya finished second on the table standings at the 2016 championships held in Durban, South Africa.