Commonwealth 800m champion Mary Moraa and Africa 1,500m champion Winny Chebet are among 1,100 athletes expected at the third Athletics Kenya Track and Field Meeting starting Friday at Thika County Stadium.
Moraa, the World 800m bronze medallist and Chebet, the 2018 Continental Cup 1,500m champion, have been kept apart in the first and second heats of the women’s 1,500m that has three semi-finals.
It will be the first 1,500m race for Moraa, who anchored Kenya Police “A” to 4x400m victory in the second Athletics Kenya Track and Field Meeting two weeks ago at Nyayo National Stadium.
Moraa had just arrived from her maiden appearance at the World Indoor Tour in Europe where she registered a personal best time of two minutes and 0.61 seconds.
“It feels exciting since this will be my first ever 1,500m,” said Moraa, who has successfully transited to 800m race from 400m where she broke the national record twice last year.
Moraa won the Kenyan Trials for World Championships and Commonwealth Games in 400m in a new national record time of 50.84 on June 25 before bettering it with a fourth place finish in 50.67 at the Brussels Diamond League on September 2 in the Belgian capital.
Moraa, the 2017 World Under-18 400m silver medallist, made history as the first Kenyan female sprinter to participate in the Diamond League with her exploits in the one lap race.
Moraa went on to claim her maiden Diamond League trophy with victory in 1:57.63 in Zurich on September 8 in the Swiss capital.
“I want to try out the metric mile race, which is part of my endurance training ahead of the World Athletics Continental Tour and Diamond League,” said Moraa.
Moraa will take on among others African Games 5,000m champion Lilian Kasait, who is making a comeback after serving 10 months for a doping offence, Isca Chelangat and Caren Chepkemoi.
Chebet will go head-on with steeplechaser Virginia Nyambura and 2022 World Under-20 5,000m champion Teresia Gateri, who basically are out to refine their speed ahead of the distance track season.
Commonwealth Games 800m champion Wycliffe Kinyamal will highlight men’s 800m that has 13 heats of eight athletes each while men’s 1,500m will have eight heats.
Kinyamal won his final at Nyayo in one minute and 46.51 seconds but most of the times registered during the second leg have not been ratified owing to a faulty timing system.
There is also a huge turnout in men’s 400m qualifying rounds that will have 16 heats same as men’s 5,000m that has registered eight finals of 24 each.
The national 100m and 200m record holder Maximilla Imali, the 2019 100m champion Monica Safania, Eunice Kadogo and Millicent Ndoro will highlight women’s 200m and 100m preliminaries.
Imali won the 100m final in 11.32sec during the second leg at Nyayo National Stadium.
The 100m hurdles queen Rukia Nusra is out to protect her territory in her specialty when she takes the blocks in the first semi-final heat that has Jane Chege and Gladys Muthoni.
