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Ekwam unbothered by World Relay drawback
Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 29.04.21. | 10:32
Coaches Stephen Mwaniki and Geoffrey Macharia who handled the team from the get go failed to travel alongside a number of athletes, among them Ekwam
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Kenya’s fastest 400m sprinter this season, Zablon Ekwam is unmoved by missing out on what would have been his debut in the international stage as he was set to make the team currently in Silesia, Poland for the World Relay Championship.
Ekwam is one of six athletes who were left out, alongside two officials, as the team flew out to Poland on Tuesday night, due to various reasons. The youngster was to line up in the 4x400m team that now has Kevin Kiprotich, William Raiyan, Daniel Sanayek and Jared Momanyi expected to do duty for the country.
Kenia???????? dotarła na Śląsk????@athletics_kenya Welcome to Silesia21????????kolejna drużyna przyjechała na Lekkoatletyczne Mistrzostwa Świata Sztafet Silesia21‼️1-2.05 @StadionSlaski????@PrasoweSlaskie @WorldAthletics @JakubChe @Nedops @PZLANews @emenews @PKOL_pl @SPORT_GOV_PL pic.twitter.com/X3vG5P3ccL
— World Athletics Relays Silesia21 (@WASilesia21) April 28, 2021
“I am out of the team for now but you are yet to see the best of me. This is just a small hitch in the beginning of my story. I know my time will come and I will fly the Kenyan flag high,” said the 21-year old who has set an ambitious target of breaking the world 400m record currently held by his role model Wayde van Niekerk.
The Ndura Athletics camp alumni who has since joined the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) came to the limelight after winning the 2021 Athletics Kenya track and field first meet in February, clocking 45.65 in 400m, in a field that had experienced sprinters among them Momanyi, 8oom specialist Wycliffe Kinyamal and Raiyan.
Ekwam had already joined KDF’s Recruits Training School (RTS) in Eldoret but Athletics bosses sought permission to have him released to the national team training camp that was training at Kasarani for the World event.
The Kitale-based athlete started competing in athletics while in Form 4 at Kapenguria Boys Secondary School. He represented the country at the East Africa School Games in Musanze, Rwanda in 2018.
“I started my athletics career later than is expected as my father had insisted that I focus on my studies. I started out as a 100m and 200m sprinter. I was in the 200m final at the qualifiers for Doha World Championships but I was red-carded. That is when coach Philip Ndura advised me to shift to 400m and I am glad something good is coming off that move,” Ekwam offered of his background.
