Team Kenya depart for Serbia ahead of World Indoor Championships

Athletics coach Barnaba Kitilit heads a contigent of ten athletes, set to represent Kenya at the World Athletics Indoor Championships set for 18 to 20 March in Belgrade, Serbia. 

The athletes will participate in seven races ranging from the men's 60m dash, where Ferdinand Omanyala is hoping to produce another record-breaking performance and hopefully win his first medal at a major championship, to the 3000m. 

Four women made the team led by Ednah Jebitok who is the only athlete out to double in the 1500m, her specialty and the 3000m races after a stellar start to the season on the road. 

Omanyala headlines Team Kenya contingent to Indoor Championships in Belgrade

The 2017 World Under-18 1,500m bronze medalist featured at the 2020 Olympics and this will be her second major championship since moving to the senior category. 

She claimed her place to the Tokyo Olympic Games when she won a 1,500m race in 4:03.46 seconds at the True Athletes Classics 2021 in Leverkusen, Germany.

The 2018 Youth Olympics 1,500m gold medalist finished fourth in her semifinal heat at the Olympics to miss out on the final. She had been drafted to the semi after a successful appeal from Team Kenya, having been tripped in the heats to finish 12th.

In the 3000m race , she will have the company of former world Under-20 5000m champion Beatrice Chebet. Last year, Chebet defeated a field of World class talents to win the women's 3000m at the second Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha, clocking a PB of 8:27.49. 

Naomi Korir, who won silver in the mixed 2x2x400m relay at last year's World Relay Championships in Silesia, Poland and Eglay Nalyanya will be in contention in the 800m women's category. 

Six men, meawhile, made the team with Omanyala the only representative in the sprints. The African 100m record holder made his debut in Indoor racing in February, setting a National Record of 6.60 seconds as he won Meeting Metz Monselle Athlelor in France.

He clocked 6.57 seconds to finish fourth at the Meeting Hauts-de- France Pas-de-Calais, five days later in Lievin, to break his own national record. Omanyala, like a majority of the Kenyan athletes in the team, is making his debut in the championship. 

In the middle distance races former Indoor Tour champion Collins Kipruto and World Under-20 800m bronze medalist Noah Kibet battle for the 800m crown. 

Meawhile 5000m Olympian Daniel Simiu and his 1500m counterpart Abel Kipsang will be in action, the former in 3000m where he will be accompanied by teammate Jacob Krop while Kipsang chases his first major championship medal after missing the podium at the Olympics to finish fourth. 

Simiu heads to the championship on the back of good performance in the indoor tour, including a Mondeville World Athletics Indoor win where he clocked 7:42.93 in 3000m to set a new meeting record. 

Kipsang, on his part, has had a good run in the indoor tour. Last month he raced to a second place finish in the men's 2000m race with a PB mark of 4:57.21 in Lievin. Then, contesting the distance over which he finished fourth at the Olympic Games, he ran a well-timed race to take the victory in Birmingham.