Kirwa eying Africa Championship slot

National triple jump champion and Police Service record holder Isaac Kirwa has moved his training up a gear as he prepares for the trials to the Africa Athletics Championship set for April 16 and 17 at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Kirwa is hoping to get a slot, through the trails, to feature at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) event slated for June 1 to 5, 2021 in Oran, Algeria. Through the continental championship, His hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo 202o Olympics will be renewed.

“I have intensified my training with a target of making the team to Algeria. While the required 16m distance is not far-fetched for me, the trials will help me gauge my preparedness for the Olympics qualification. I do not have much time before the trials so I am concentrating on more power and speed training drills,” said Kirwa.

The Kenya Police Training College (Kiganjo)-based athlete’s hopes of having a go at qualification to the Olympics during the World Athletics Continental Tour hosted at Nyayo National Stadium in October last year went down the drain as Athletics Kenya (AK) excluded the event from the schedule. Triple jump was one of the core events at the meet dubbed Kip Keino Nairobi Classic but low entries from foreign-based competitors saw the discipline called off. 

“AK had intended to run the discipline as part of the national events but that did not happen. Six of us had prepared to compete and had met all the requirements but we were informed on the morning of the meet that triple jump was not on the program. That was disappointing as I had hoped to use the event to gauge my level after training on my own since the pandemic hit. However, I cannot dwell on the past. I will take a break then get back to training in preparation for the next assignment,” Kirwa had said after the Nairobi event.

The 26-year-old hopes to break the jinx that has seen Kenya miss out at the Olympics Games since the national record holder Jacob Katonon graced the 1996 edition of the Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

He has a personal best of 16.39 achieved during the 2019 national championship where he booked a slot in Team Kenya to the Africa Games in Morocco. He managed 15.63 at the continental Games to finish ninth. He also took part in long jump at the event, finishing fifth at 7.68.

“I am 61 centimeters shy of clocking the Olympics qualifying distance of 17m. With the right speed training, I will be able to cover that deficit and even do better. I have always participated in three disciplines, triple jump, long jump and 400m but I have decided to concentrate on triple jump as I chase that Olympics slot,” offered Kirwa who last featured in an international competition at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games where he picked an injury that sidelined him until 2017.