Stanley Waithaka explains two-year absence from athletics
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Reading Time: 3min | Wed. 04.06.25. | 12:04
Waithaka’s return could not be timelier. Kenya has endured a long medal drought in the men’s 10,000m at major global competitions
After two years away from the limelight, long-distance runner Stanley Waithaka Mburu made a resounding comeback at the sixth edition of the Kip Keino Classic on Saturday, 31 May, finishing third in the men’s 5,000m race.
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Mburu, who last competed publicly at the 2023 Sirikwa Classic, clocked 13:38.17 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex, his first time racing at the newly commissioned facility.
The race was won by Ethiopia’s Amare Hailemariyam, with compatriot Tadesse Zenebe Ayele coming in second. But beyond the podium finish, the return marked the end of a difficult chapter.
He was coming off an injury that kept him on the sidelines for the better part of last season.
The injury meant he could not compete in the Olympic trials.
“Last year, I developed a groin injury, and I could not run well. I was out of competition for half of the season.
But when I felt better, I started doing build-ups and preparing. I think it is time to come back,” Mburu offered.
He disappeared from the public eye because he was based in Saitama, Tokyo, where he was training with the Yakult corporate team.
Following the Kip Keino Classic, he has shifted base temporarily to Nyahururu as he prepares for the national trials for the World Championships.
On Tuesday, 3 June, Athletics Kenya confirmed that the Prefontaine Classic event set for Saturday, 5 July, will act as a qualifier for the men’s 10,000m and women’s 5,000m events, respectively.
This will become the second year in a row where the Eugene meet will be used as a Kenyan qualifier, having been utilised to select the men’s and women’s 10,000m teams for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“I have not been running 5,000m for a while now. I have been doing 10,000m. I decided to gauge my speed with 5,000m as we prepare for the 10,000m trials next month.
What I need to work on is endurance, because my speed is okay,” he said after the race.
Waithaka’s return could not be timelier. Kenya has endured a long medal drought in the men’s 10,000m at major global competitions.
The last Olympic gold came in 1968 through Naftali Temu in Mexico City, while the most recent world title was Charles Kamathi’s victory in 2001 at the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada.
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The closest Kenya has come in recent years was in 2022, when Mburu secured silver at the World Championships in Oregon, clocking 27:27.90.
In 2018, he ran the fastest 10,000m time of the year, 27:13.01, during the Yokohama Nittai University Time Trials in Japan.
His determination to end Kenya’s 10,000m dry spell remains undeterred.
“Kenya has been struggling in the 10,000m and I am looking forward to making the team to Tokyo and claiming a medal,” he disclosed.
Waithaka first caught global attention in 2017, bagging bronze in the 3,000m at the World Under-18 Championships behind Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega and Kenya’s Edward Zakayo.
A year later, he added a silver at the World Under-20 Championships, again finishing behind Zakayo.
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