Solid start for Team Kenya at World Indoor Championships in Poland [VIDEOS]

Kenya enjoyed a bright start to the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland after seeing three of its athletes qualify to the semifinals of their respective events on Friday, 20 March.

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All running in the morning session of the championships’ opening day, the trio of Noah Kibet, Mercy Adongo and Brian Tinega made sure Kenya remained in the hunt for an elusive medal, by breezing through their heats with relative ease.

400m national champion Adongo was the first Kenyan to book her slot in the semifinals when she came second in Heat Six of the women’s 400m, timing a hugely impressive 51.57, which fell just four hundredths of a second behind her personal best time of 51.53 she set in February at the Meeting Metz Moselle in France.

The 23-year-old will now seek to go a step further at the championships when she lines up in Heat One of the semifinals scheduled for Friday night (9:42 PM).

Joining her in the semifinals was men’s 400m runner Tinega, who produced a big kick to follow the fast Canadian Christopher Morales into second place in Heat Five.

The 23-year-old, who is a student-athlete at Texas Tech University, clocked 46.21 to rank seventh fastest of all qualifiers, and will have a date in Heat 2 of the semifinals on Friday night at 10:51 PM.

Alongside the duo through the heats was 2022 World Indoor Championships silver medallist Kibet, who was on top of his form in comfortably winning Heat Six of the men’s 800 metres.

The diminutive 21-year-old, who is unbelievably running in his fourth global Indoor Championships, clocked a time of 1:45.84, and will look to re-establish himself as a leading contender when he headlines Heat 2 of the semifinals on Saturday, 21 March at 3:16 PM.

On the flipside, two Kenyans were knocked out of the championships after failing to qualify through the heats.

This is after the duo of Rosemary Longisa and Gladys Chepngetich were swallowed up in the highly competitive women’s 800m, waving goodbye to the event on the first time of asking.

Longisa, a student at Washington University, finished fifth in a quick Heat One, clocking a personal best time of 2:03.48.

Her new time took nearly seven seconds off her previous best time of 2:10.28 set at the MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championships in February last year.

Highly-rated Chengetich, meanwhile, was only fifth in Heat 2, fading away in the final metres to time 2:02.23.

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The women’s 800m indoor national record-holder looked poised to finish in second behind veteran Jamaican Natoya Goule-Toppin, only for the rest of the field to come streaming past her, and knocking her out of the championships.

Alongside the women’s and men’s 400m semifinals, Kenyans will also have an opportunity to watch Susan Ejore and Festus Lagat launch their championships also on Friday night, in the 1500m heats.