Kenya can become a powerhouse in sprint races

Once again, the past weekend was an eventful one in which many sports fans were left with memories to savour for a long time.

Thousands of athletes – over 1500 – gathered at the Nyayo Stadium for the third leg of the Athletics Kenya Track and Field Weekend Meeting to compete for top honours in different categories of competition.

The two-day meeting doubled up as the national trials for East Africa Under 18 and Under 20 Regional Championships in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Ask anyone who was present at the 35,000-seater stadium and they will tell you that the event delivered more than what it had promised heading into last Friday.

Where do we even begin? Ferdinand Omanyala’s world-leading time of 9.81 in the men’s 100m? or Samuel Imeta clocking a sub-10 (9.94) for the first time in his athletics career?

Indeed, these two were the highlight of the weekend, pushing each other close in the men’s 100m before Omanyala crossed the finish line first to add to his burgeoning record of reels of unforgettable moments as far as Kenyan athletics is concerned.

It is encouraging to see many sprinters coming up as evidenced by the huge number that competed last weekend.

The men’s 100m, for instance, had 24 heats precipitated by the hundreds of athletes who registered to compete in this category.

Regardless of who made the podium places, the greatest winner from last weekend’s competition is Kenyan athletics. It goes to show that the future is bright as far as the sport is concerned.

Just like Martin Luther King, I have a dream: a dream to see more Omanyalas lining up at the starting line alongside the Fred Kerleys and Lamont Jacobs of the sprints – not overwhelmed by the stature of their competitors but inspired by the chance to make history.

To those sprinters who came and went home empty-handed, be inspired that it was not a waste of time but a first step towards achieving your dream of gracing grand competitions that have been contested by legends such as Usain Bolt.

As Athletics Kenya, we admit that the responsibility is on us to provide the right environment for upcoming sprinters to sprout and fulfill their talents.

We will continue to search for opportunities for such budding talents to train in world-class facilities and improve on various aspects of their running.

After he clocked his world lead, Omanyala spoke of the need to develop a conveyor belt of sprints talent so that a vacuum will not be left behind when the current crop hang up their spikes.

I couldn’t agree more. Let’s continue with the same spirit: train hard, run clean and win fair.

Korir is the chairman of Athletics Kenya’s Nairobi branch and Kip Keino Classic meet director. [email protected]