AK should develop sprints – Daily Nation

Kenya’s results at the weekend’s fourth World Relay Championships in Yokohama, Japan, where it won only a bronze medal in 4×400 metres mixed relay race, showed the need for change in the country’s approach and strategy in races.

The casual approach that Athletics Kenya has always adopted when preparing athletes for such races should stop. Kenya should aspire to expose its sprinters to quality events outside the country and facilities and on time to avoid shocks on the big stage.

The team would have done better in the men’s 4x200m finals were it not for the poor baton-handling by one of the athletes, just as better team selection would have earned it a medal in the 4x400m mixed relay. In addition, a line infringement by an athlete led to disqualification in 2x2x400m final.

With proper planning, nothing is impossible. Kenya has great talent, and some of these impediments can be resolved with exposure to quality competitions, facilities, coaching and early preparations.

Lessons from Yokohama should be a yardstick in preparing for the World Championships, scheduled from September 28 to October 6 in Doha, Qatar, and Africa Games, which are slated August 23 to September 3 in Casablanca, Morocco.

The International Association of Athletics Federations, having moved away from middle-distance relay races such as the 4x800m and 4×1,500m, the country needs to work towards qualifying more athletes in these short-distance races, hence the need to develop the sprints.

It is by accepting that things did not work in Yokohama that we will learn and change so as to do well in short-distance races.