Final shot at Olympics relay qualification

Kenya’s relay teams have a final chance to qualify for 2024 Paris Olympic Games today when they compete in Qualifying Round Two of the World Athletics Relays Championships in Bahamas.

World Athletics Relays Championships is an international biennial track and field sporting event. Other than awarding medals to winners, World Athletics is also using the championship as a platform for athletes to attain Olympics qualifying standard.

On Saturday night, Kenyan sprinters missed out on medals, and automatic qualification for the Olympics, following poor performance in Qualifying Round One at the World Athletics Relays Championships which are being staged at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, the capital city of the Atlantic Ocean island nation. 

Fourteen teams in men and women’s 4x100 metres race, the 4x400m, and mixed 4x400m which made it to the finals of the World Athletics Relays Championships automatically qualified for 2024 Olympic Games.

The top two teams in each of the four heats ran in each of these events secured spots for their respective finals

All other teams that failed to make the final will compete in Qualifying Round Two today, and the top two teams in each of the three heats from the events will also qualify for the Olympics. 

After today’s competitions, two more teams from the disciplines will qualify to compete in the Olympics based on ranking during the qualification period that runs from December 31, 2022, to June 30, 2024.

Yesterday, Kenya’s 4x400 men’s team finished fifth in the third heat which was won by Italy in three minutes, 1.68 seconds. The Kenyan quartet of Wiseman Were, Boniface Mweresa, Brian Tinega, and David Sanayek timed 3:03.29.

Kenya has a good chance of snatching one of two Olympics slots up for grabs in the first heat of men’s 4x400m that will feature USA, Dominican Republic, Qatar, Mexico, among others. 

Kenya’s head coach, Steven Mwaniki, said his team’s performance was affected by late travel plans. Some of the Kenyan athletes failed to travel to Bahamas after failing to get US transit visas. 

“They suffered fatigue owing to long hours spent traveling, and connecting flights. That will always affect the athletes,” said Mwaniki.

“Relays are a teamwork affair, and it’s discouraging when some athletes who are part of the team fail to travel,” Mwaniki explained, adding that the men’s 4x400m has a good chance in the second round of Olympics qualification.

France, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, and the USA qualified four teams for Paris Olympics, while Canada, Italy, and Poland qualified three each.

With World 800m champion, Mary Moraa, and national 400m champion, Zablon Ekwam, missing, Kenya’s 4x400m mixed relay team looks depleted.

The quartet of Kennedy Muthoki, Mercy Chebet, Kevin Kipkorir, and Maureen Thomas finished last in the third heat in 3:14.33.

That put them 24th overall in the mixed 4x400m event that saw eight teams dip inside the previous championship record that had stood for seven years.

The USA won thesecond heat in a championship record of 3:11.52 with world 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol anchoring the Netherlands to the second fastest time (3:12.16) with victory in heat one.

The Dutch set the championship record first before the USA broke it within minutes as Ireland won heat three in a national record of 3:12.50.

Nigeria was the only African team to qualify for the final after finishing behind the USA in 3:13.79. Kenya will now meet Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, and India in heat two of the qualifiers today at 2.05am.

The USA also led the first round in both the women’s and men’s 4x100m where no Africa team made it to the final. USA won the women’s in heat one in 42.21 followed by Britain who won heat four in 42.33.

America’s men's team, powered by world 100m champion, Noah Lyles, and Kip Keino Classic 100m champion, Kenneth Bednarek, won heat one in 37.49. Commonwealth and Africa 100m champion, Ferdinand Omanyala, anchored his Kenyan 4x100m team to finish last in heat four in 39.38 after a slow start.

Ireland set a national record to top the list of women’s 4x400m qualifiers as Botswana pipped South Africa in men’s 4x400m.
battle.

Isaac Makwala and Letsile Tebogo’s Botswana won heat four in 2:59.73, edging out South Africa to second place in 2:59.76 as they both sailed through to the final and Paris Olympics.