KENYANS EYE GLORY: Coach Rono exudes confidence as world relays start in Bahamas

Relays training session at Kasarani.
Alfas Keshoyan recieves the baton from his team-mate Michael Makan during their 4x400m relay training session at Kasarani Stadium on April 29, 2015.PHOTO/DENNIS OKEYO
 

The national relays team arrived here in Nassau, Bahamas beaming with confidence as the IAAF World Relays start today at the 15,000, state-of-the-art, Thomas A. Robinson Stadium.

Despite having an almost entirely new-look team after withdrawal of star athletes due to various reasons ranging from injuries to job commitments, head Coach Sammy Rono is confident of improving on their first edition’s performance.
Kenya bagged four medals (three golds in 4x1500m men and women, 4x800m men and silver in 4x800m women), in the inaugural edition last year, to finish third with 35 points, 25 points behind overall winners United States.

“It is a new team mixed of experienced and young athletes, but people will be surprised with what they will do. We have trained very well and I am pretty sure they will prove critics wrong.

“Most of them are little known, but they are eager to make a name for themselves, so we expect records to be set and broken. They are capable of producing better results than last year,” Rono told Feverpitch, at the team’s hotel.

“We will make some changes before the main events today. But our target is to defend the races we won last year and win the newly introduced medley relays.”

Conspicuously missing from the team is two-time World 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop, who was in the last edition’s 4x1500m relays winning team and the Commonwealth Games 1500m silver medalist Ronald Kwemoi. The duo had been named in the medley relay team (1,200m, 400m, 800m and 1,600m).

Although Kenya are favourites for the innovative event and will be looking forward to breaking her own record of 9:15.56 set at the Penn Relays 2006, Rono took a swipe at Kiprop by claiming that the 30-year -old middle-distance runner resorted to faking an injury in order to be withdrawn from the championships.

“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that Kiprop faked injury. He was assessed by the doctor and ruled fit, but if he pretends to have sustained an injury then time will tell,” he said.

“All the same, I won’t miss him. I had four other options including Rotich (Ferguson), who is his perfect replacement.

“Kwemoi’s situation is understandable as his Japanese employers refused to release him.”

Team captain Collins Omae said: “We are on a mission. It is either the status quo remains or we improve on the 2014’s performance. These are young, but exciting athletes who have participated in major events before.

Although the stars are not around, we believe in ourselves and we have a point to prove.”

The two-day event which brings together the best and fastest athletes in the world will serve as a qualifying competition for the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2015 edition).