Speedstar Otieno heads to Kampala in search of Olympic slot

Sprinter Mark Otieno has taken his qualification battle for the Tokyo Olympic Games to Kampala where he will participate in Uganda National Athletics Championships  on Saturday.

The athlete is in Kenya’s 4x200 metres team for the World Relay Championships scheduled for May 1 to 2 in Silesia, Poland.

In the Kampala meeting, he will compete in the 100m and 200m races at the Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.

Otieno’s world relay mate Mike Mokamba, who was to also chase the Olympic time in 200m, failed to travel to Kampala after he could not get his passport on time from the Polish Embassy.

Otieno missed the 100m Olympics qualifying time by 0.06 seconds when he won the 100m title in a national record breaking time at the All Comers Athletics Meet on April 10 to 11 at the National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka.

Otieno's feat in the final saw him erase his previous personal best of 10.14secs set when winning the national title in 2017.

Otieno went on to clock a season's best 20.46 sec to win the men's 200m.

Tokyo Olympic Games has the qualifying standard of 10.05sec in 100m and 20.24 sec in 200m.

“I hope for the best from the Kampala race. It will be fine if I am to hit the Olympic qualifying time as I head for the world relays. I am taking everything easy,” said Otieno before departing to Kampala.

Otieno got to keep his 1000m national record after Athletics Kenya declined to ratify Ferdinand Omanyala's time of 10.01sec set when winning men’s 100m seminal the Betking MoC Grand Prix at Yabatech Complex in Lagos on March 30.  

Meanwhile, Team Kenya will take their final Covid-19 tests on Sunday before knowing who will take the flight for the World Relay Championships.