AK postopone Cross Country Series in honour of Kiprugut
Athletes compete in the senior men's 10km race during the second leg of the Athletics Kenya Cross Country Series in Kapsokwony, Mt Elgon in Bungoma County on October 29, 2022.
What you need to know:
- AK President Jack Tuwei said Kenya will send a strong team to the World Cross Country Championships slated for February 18, 2023.
- The last edition of World Cross Country Championships was held in Aarhus, Denmark in 2019.
Athletics Kenya has made changes the Cross Country Series in honour of the late Wilson Kiprugut Chumo who died last week and will be buried on Saturday in Kericho.
Kiprugut was the first Kenyan and African to win a medal in the Olympic Games with his bronze medal exploits in the 1964Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The AK Cross Country Championships series, which was headed for the third leg in the neighbouring Sotik in Bomet County, has and has been pushed to November 19 at the same venue.
The first series was held in Machakos on October 15 with the second heading to Kapsokwony in Mt Elgon, Bungoma County on October 29.
AK President Jack Tuwei said Kenya will send a strong team to the World Cross Country Championships slated for February 18, 2023.
The last edition of World Cross Country Championships was held in Aarhus, Denmark in 2019.
With the event coming early in the season, Tuwei urged athletes to prepare adequately ahead of the national event to be held at the Kenya Prisons Service Training College in Ruiru, Kiambu in January 21 next year.
After the national event, Kenya will host the second edition of World Cross Country Gold Tour at Lobo Village in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County on February 4.
The World Cross Country Gold Tour has been named after the late Agnes Tirop. Tirop was murdered last year in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County.
Tuwei said that Tirop’s family has requested that AK and World Athletics drop her name in the subsequent editions of the tour. It will now be known as the Sirikwa World Cross Country Gold Tour.
“The season has started and we are preparing a strong team that will be representing our country in the global event and our target is to reclaim what we lost in the last edition,” said Tuwei.
Athletes should at least compete in two legs in the series if they harbour ambitions of going to the workd event.
AK will forward the names of the probables on December 1 due to strict travelling requirements from Australia.
“Cross Country is always good for buildup and we have athletes who are doing well because they always start their season with that and I would like to urge all those who are eyeing a better year to think of competing in these events,” said Tuwei.
