Nairobi, Kenya - Soldiers stole the show on the opening day of the New KCC/Athletics Kenya national track and field championships at Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium on Thursday (25) although no qualifying standards for the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Berlin, Germany (15 – 23 Aug) were met in the day’s finals of the field events.

Mary Mbuthia of the Armed Forces team won the 10km Race Walk in 51:20.3 as the soldiers also grabbed the women’s Pole Vault, Shot Put and men’s Hammer Throw titles albeit outside Berlin qualifying standards.

But the opening day should merely be the calm before the big storm with the women’s 10,000m final scheduled for Friday afternoon (26 June) with the first two across the line earning automatic tickets to represent Kenya in Berlin with the third runner to be selected by a panel of Athletics Kenya coaches.

Friday’s women’s 10,000m and the men’s race over the same distance on Saturday (27 June) are the only events in which the Kenyan selectors will pick athletes for Berlin, with the rest of the track and field events having to wait for next month’s official trials for the World Championships, also to be held in Nairobi.

Rudisha and Yego progress smoothly through 800m heats

There were early and appetizing indications, though, of an exciting final two days of action in today’s heats in the middle distance races with Kenya’s Beijing Olympics medallists and other perennial top performers shedding off the early season rust to make it through to the weekend’s finals unscathed.

One young man to look out for is the thoroughly promising David Rudisha, the 2008 African 800 metres champion, who breezed through the opening heats that also saw 2007 World champion and 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Alfred Kirwa Yego progress in his first major race of the domestic season.

Rudisha, a son of the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games relay silver medallist, Daniel Rudisha, is Kenya’s most promising two-lap runner who missed the Beijing Games after suffering a stress fracture in training but now looks set for a bright season given his fine performances so far this season.

Running for the Kenya police team, the 2006 World Junior champion eased through the opening heat on Friday clocking 1:48.7.

“I have been training alone and I came to these national championships to get familiar with the rigors of going through the heats into the final as will be the case in Berlin,” said Rudisha, who will line up in the AF Golden League in Oslo (3 July) after the Nairobi Championships.

Yego, who also took the World Athletics Final title last year in Stuttgart, launched his plot to defend the World Champs title he won in Osaka by winning his heat in a gun-to-tape time identical to Rudisha’s, 1:48.7.

Known to attack from the back of the pack, the 2007 World champion’s front running approach made the local journalists a bit curious.

“This is a new skill that I have been advised to use by my coaches to try see how it will turn out. I have been losing races not because I’m not fit, but because I have had to work extra hard to cover up from behind," Yego, who put in a late burst of speed to battle from the outside lanes and secure the bronze in Beijing, responded.

Other heats…

The usual suspects made it through in the 5000m semi-finals with Armed Forces’ Joseph Ebuya (13:49.6) and Joseph Kitur (13:40.7) of the Kenya Police winning the two semis.

Kenya’s latest sprints sensation, Kipkemoi Soi, ran a slow 10.59 in the 100m heats and will be hard-pressed to match the 10.0 he ran at the Armed Forces Championships last month.

Among the women’s races yesterday, 5000m specialists Vivian Cheruiyot and Sylvia Kibet were impressive in the 1500m, winning their qualifying races in 4:17.4 and 4:19.3 respectively.

“This was a slow race. I wanted some challenge to run faster. But I’m happy to win here as it inspires me ahead of the Grand Prix races I have coming up. I will now revert to my speciality (5000m) before coming back home for the trials,” she said.

The highlight of Friday’s programme will be the 10,000m women’s final along with the finals of the 100m and 4x100m relays.

Elias Makori for IAAF

RESULTS

FINALS - Day One of the New KCC/Athletics Kenya National Championships Thursday:

Women:

10km Race Walk: 1. Mary Mbuthia (Armed Forces) 51:20.3, 2. Rael Rotich (Kenya Police) 52:00.4, 3. Chepgnetich Kosgei (Armed Forces) 53:13.3, 4. Esther Murungi (Kenya Prisons) 53:48.5, 5. Ruth Wanjiku (Kenya Police) 56:27.8.

Pole Vault: 1. Janet Chepchumba (Armed Forces) 2.50m, 2. Winnie Langat (Kenya Police) 2.50m, 3. Veronica Chebet (Kenya Police) 2.50m, 4. Vivian Chepngetich (South Rift) 2.50m, 5. Deborah Chepkemeoi (Kenya Police) 2.40m.

Shot Put: 1. Betty Chebet (Kenya Police) 12.91m, 2. Priscilla Isiaho (Armed Forces) 11.82m, 3. Jane Kiptoo (Kenya Prisons) 11.81m, 4. Jackline Nyongesa (Kenya Prisons) 11.69m, 5. Pascaline Cheptanui (Armed Forces) 11.49m.

Men:

Hammer: 1. Dennis Sakawa (Armed Forces) 50.84m, 2. Sammy Bitok (Armed Forces) 50.21m, 3. Morris Omoro (Administration Police) 49.0m, 4. Kimeli Tanui (Armed Forces) 47.22m, 5. Paul Kiplimo (Nyanza North) 45.59m.