The Athletics Kenya National Cross Country Championships will be the first test ahead of World Athletics Championships to be held in Tokyo, Japan.
Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei said that the national cross country championships set to be held on February 8th at the Eldoret Sports will be part of the buildup in preparation of the Road To Tokyo.
“This is the precursor for what will happen so that when we go to the field, the athletes will be well prepared to qualify for the world championships in Tokyo but before we go there, next month.
We shall have World Indoor championships in Nanjing, ahead of the May World Relays, then Africa under 20 and under 18 championships in Algeria,” said Tuwei after checking on the final touches of the course on Thursday February 6, 2025.
When will AK weekend meetings begin?
He added that after the national cross country, AK weekend meetings will kick off with its first leg set for February 15 at the Mumias Sports Complex.
“After this, we are going straight to track and field because we only have one cross country event, the Sirikwa cross country as part of our Road to Tokyo.
I want to urge our athletes and coaches to prepare well to meet the qualifying standards and periods and by the time we do trials, we know that all were prepared and we have to give equal opportunities,” added Tuwei.
On the National Cross Country event, the AK president said that he was satisfied with the work done by technical officials.
“I went round to see everything and I am happy with preparations. Everything has been met by the team and requirements for the cross country,” he said.
Coast team arrives in Eldoret for National Cross Country Championships
Meanwhile, Coast region became the first team to arrive in Eldoret for the championships.
With 12 regions, four affiliates and four new entries, the president said that all the teams are supposed to have arrived by Thursday to acclimatize, visit the route among others.
“We want to be clear on what to do when it comes to the event because this is a major competition. The teams that will be coming here, they must have been trained and ready to represent their races and the price money has been raised, which is a good amount for us.
All will be putting their efforts as an individual and team work,” he added.
