World's finest hammer throwers sign up for Kip Keino Classic
Poland's Pawel Fajdek reacts during the men's hammer throw competition of the Zlata Tretra (Golden Spike) athletics meeting on May 24, 2012 in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava. File | Robert Michael | AFP
What you need to know:
- Kip Keino Classic meet director Barnaba Korir disclosed Saturday that the 32-year-old Fajdek, who won bronze at the Olympics, is in a rich list of hammer throwers due for the World Athletics Continental Gold Tour event
- Fajdek, who weighs 128kgs beat Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki, hauling a new Meet Record of 78.33m to win in Nairobi last year
- Korir noted that what will make the third edition unique following the success of the October 2020 and September 2021 editions is the presence of fans
Four-time world hammer throw champion Paweł Fajdek from Poland will defend his Kip Keino Classic hammer throw title this year.
Kip Keino Classic meet director Barnaba Korir disclosed Saturday that the 32-year-old Fajdek, who won bronze at the Olympics, is in a rich list of hammer throwers due for the World Athletics Continental Gold Tour event.
The third edition of the Kip Keino Classic is due for May 7 at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
Fajdek, who weighs 128kgs beat Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki, hauling a new Meet Record of 78.33m to win in Nairobi last year.
Nowicki managed 77.99m to settle second behind Fajdek, who won the world titles back-to-back in 2013 Moscow, 2015 Beijing, 2017 London and 2019 Doha.
It will be an explosive rematch with Nowicki, who is also from Poland, coming for the Nairobi event alongside Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Eivind Henriken from Norway.
“This is a good field considering that both will once again clash at the World Championships this year where Nowicki and Henriken will be out to end Fajdek’s nine years dominance,” said Korir, adding that some of the aforementioned athletes are among the world’s biggest sporting stars that will once again converge for what promises to be the biggest edition yet.
Korir noted that what will make the third edition unique following the success of the October 2020 and September 2021 editions is the presence of fans.
Korir said this will be the first time fans will grace the event after the first two editions were staged in an empty stadium due to Covid-19.
Korir said the event will provide athletes with a timely elite-level platform to compete on ahead of the World Athletics Championships slated from July 15 to 24 in Oregon, United States.
The Continental Gold Tour starts with the Bermuda Games on April 9 at the National Sports Centre, Devonshire, Bermuda followed by Golden Games on April 16 at Hilmer Lodge Stadium, California, United States.
Legendary Kipchoge Keino, whom the event is named after, said the championships also seek to promote local talents with several national events on card.
“Kenya has been known to produce world class talent but the previous two editions have showcased our capacity to stage global athletics events,” Keino said.
“I don't expect those standards to drop during the third edition.”
“Beyond this year, it would be my great desire to see Kenya secure hosting rights for the Diamond League and other bigger events," explained Keino.
