Athletics Kenya (AK) have after all not entered the men’s 4x100metres relay team for the World Athletics Championships starting August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.
AK president Jack Tuwei said that even though World Athletics had invited the country to field the men’s 4x100m relay team, they didn’t when final entries were made on Monday so as to avoid future complications.
Tuwei noted that the time that Kenya placed 14th in their world ranking by the close of the deadline on July 30 had a doping case.
AK had named the relay team of Africa and Commonwealth Games 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala, Boniface Mweresa, Dan Kiviasi, Steve Onyango, Hesbon Ochieng and Samuel Chege.
“We just couldn’t risk hence opting not to enter a team in that event,” said Tuwei, adding that Kenya now remains with the men’s 4x400m and 4x400m mixed relay teams for the Budapest athletics extravaganza.
Omanyala, Mweresa, Hesbon Ochieng and Samuel Imeta won the 4x100m during the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in 38.26 on April 29 this year to move to position 12 in the world ranking.
That placed the country in pole position for the world championships in the “Road to Budapest.”
However, Imeta was among 20 athletes that were provisionally suspended by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) on June 3 over various doping offences.
Imeta tested positive for Anabolic Androgenic Steroids during the second Athletics Kenya Track and Field Meeting on February 24, this year at the Nyayo National Stadium.
Imeta blasted to an explosive 9.94 seconds, to finish second behind winner Omanyala, who timed 9.81 but the times were not ratified after the electronic timing machine was found to be faulty.
Imeta finished fourth behind Omanyala, who won at the Athletic South Africa (ASA) Grand Prix 1 on April 1, clocking 10.39 against 10.12 before settling second at ASA Grand Prix 2in 10.22 also behind Omanyala in 10.05.
But Imeta would win ASA Grand Prix 3 in 10.12 before crossing over to Botswana where he won the men’s 100m final 2 in 10.10 at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix. Omanyala won the 100m final 1 in a wind assisted 9.78.
These times set by Imeta will be nullified if he is sanctioned for doping.
