Carvin Nkanata finishes second at Japan meet

Kenya’s Carvin Nkanata sprinted to a second place in 200m, clocking 20.50 seconds at the IAAF World Challenge Meetings in Kawasaki, Japan on Sunday.

It was Nkanata’s first race after his Kenyan team was disqualified during the World Relays last weekend in the Bahamas.

Nkanata lost the Kawasaki Grand Prix battle to home athlete Kenji Fujimitsu, who clocked 20.33 as Zhenye Xie from China timed 20.61 to finish third.

The United States-based Nkanata broke his own National 200m record for the third consecutive time at the NTC Pure Athletics Sprint Festival in Clermont Florida on April 18.

Nkanata proved that Kenyans can also be successful in sprints besides middle and long distance races when he clocked a world leading mark of 20.14 seconds.

Nkata also broke his own national Kenyan record of 20.17 seconds he set last year April in Tennesse, almost one year after setting another national record of 20.32 at the IC4A/ECAC Division I Championships in Princeton, USA.

Back in Kawasaki, little known Bernard Mbugua Nganga orchestrated a podium sweep for Kenya in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, winning in 8:23.77. Clement Kemboi Kimutai settled for second in 8:25.32 as Lawrence Kemboi Kipsang came in third in 8:25.64 to lock out Ethiopian Chala Beyo who clocked 8:25.82.

Colombian Rafith Rodríguez timed 1:45.84 to edge out Kenya’s Patrick Kiprotich Ronoh in 1:46.17 in men’s 800m.

It was a race where favourite Anthony Chemut from Kenya was beaten to sixth place in 1:47.46.

Chemut, the 2012 Africa 800m silver medallist, represented Kenya at the 2012 London Olympics and 2013 World Championships but failed to get past the semi-finals in both championships.