Okal targeting PB at Commonwealth Games

University of Nairobi (UoN) law student Joseph Okal has punched his ticket to the Commonwealth Games set for July in England and as preparations begin, his focus is on setting better times as he faces world-class tri-athletes at the extravaganza.

Okal won the national qualifiers held last weekend at Karen's WaterFront ahead of top seed John Paul. Work now begins, with a tricky balancing act as he is still in school.

“I am happy about my time. Cutting eight minutes off of my last personal best was no mean feat. It is yet to settle in that I will be taking part in the Games, this is exciting.

Kenya triathlon qualifies four for Commonwealth Games

Now I have to balance between school, where I have evening classes, and preparations. That leaves me with morning hours to train. I am, however, not very worried. My target is posting times faster than one hour and five minutes that I did at the qualifiers,” said Okal who was just returning from a hamstring injury sustained in September during a competition in Zimbabwe.

A discipline that has athletes engage in three events from swimming to cycling to running, Okal says he is working to have a balanced performance in all three. 

"Since sustaining my injury in September, my run has been affected. I only came back to running in February but I can say I am doing well. 

I started out with swimming, six years ago, and I think cycling has been my weak link of the three events. However, I have put in the work and I have improved," Okal offered.