Kishoyian back in training after study-break

He has been a missing figure in all the Athletics Kenya (AK) events since taking part at the World Athletics Continental Tour in October last year, but national 400m champion Alphas Kishoyian is back, his sight set on the Summer Games. 

His last competition at the Continental Tour is one to forget as he finished a distant sixth in 47.12 in a race won by fellow Kenyan Jared Momanyi in 46.12. 

With a personal best of 44.75, Kishoian is working to get back to the form he was in when he ran his PB as he readies for the national Olympics trials in a few weeks. 

"From January 2021 I joined a military course and I just completed last week. Seeing as nothing much was going to happen in the sporting world owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, I took the chance to work on my career but now I am back. I have already gone back to training and my concentration is on speed and tactics."

"While I have a ticket to the Tokyo Games by virtue of my placing at the World Championships in 2019, I still have to work with a view of making the qualifying time at the national trials," offered the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) sprinter. 

The 26-year old is currently training at the KDF camp in Ngong under coach Vincent Mumo, where he hopes to work on his fitness first before he can rejoin his Rongai Athletics teammates and coach Bernard Ouma. 

Kishoian has had an elaborate sprinting career, dominated locally for several seasons, but is yet to win gold at the international stage. 

In his youth career, clocked 47.24 in the 400 meters during the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore to emerge third and managed a solar podium finish the next year at the African Junior Championships held in Gaborone, Botswana after registering 46.71. He was also part of the 4x400m relay that clinched silver in 3:10.17 at the Junior Games. 

The same year, he won a silver medal in the 400 meters at the World Youth Championships after losing narrowly to American sprinter Arman Hall. He also won silver at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games, clocking 48.28 to finish behind Briton Clovis Asong.

He made his senior international debut with a participation in the 2012 London Olympics with the 4x400m relay team that was disqualified in the preliminary stages. Between 2013 and 2019 the sprinter has represented the country at the World Championships, World Relays, Africa Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympics.