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It would be free entry at the Kip Keino Classic

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The government has scrapped entry fees for the third edition of Kip Keino Classic scheduled for Saturday at Moi International Sports Centre,Kasarani.

Announcing the development, Sports Cabinet Secretary Dr Amina Mohamed urged Kenyans to turn up in large numbers for the Continental Tour event, which has attracted a galaxy of stars from across the globe.

“The fact that the field has Olympic, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and continental medallists attests to the growth of the Kip Keino Classic,” said Amina, adding that the event has recorded huge success and it’s a high time it’s taken to the next level.

“We have written to World Athletics to upgrade this Continental Gold Tour event to a Diamond League status next year. We hope our wish will be granted,” said Amina

All eyes will be on some of the world’s best sprinters as they seek to take advantage of the high Kenyan altitude.

The gold and silver medallists from the Tokyo Olympic Games will be meeting again in the men’s 100m, as Italy’s Marcell Jacobs takes on USA’s Fred Kerley.

Jacobs has the faster personal best of 9.80, set when winning the Olympic title, compared to Kerley’s 9.84 in that Olympic final. Kerley, however, knows the stadium well as it is where he ran his 200m PB of 19.76 last year.

“It’s wonderful to be back where I ended my season last year,” said Kerley after his arrival in Nairobi.

It won’t be a two-horse race, though, with Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who has the fastest PB of 9.77, also lining up, along with USA’s Olympic 200m silver medallist Kenny Bednarek.

The women’s 100m is also expected to thrill the spectators, with Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce racing Namibia’s Christine Mboma.

Fraser-Pryce, 35, has already established herself as a sprinting legend, with her personal best of 10.60 making her the third-fastest women’s 100m runner in history. She has also won three Olympic sprint gold medals to go with her 10 world titles.

Mboma, on the other hand, is seen as a rising star to watch out for. The Olympic silver medallist and world U20 champion in the 200m has been entered in both the 100m and 200m in Nairobi and will be facing Fraser-Pryce in the first shorter race.

The men’s hammer throw will be another big event to watch, with two Tokyo Olympic medallists who happen to be from the same country set to continue their rivalry.

Poland’s Wojciech Nowicki, 33, is the reigning Olympic champion, while Pawel Fajdek, 32, is the world champion. The two have been in the limelight since 2008, with Fajdek leading their head-to-head record 86 to 21.

This is the first time the event’s organisers will allow fans into the 60,000-seat arena for the Kip Keino Classic after they were kept away from the 2020 and 2021 edition due to Covid-19 restrictions.



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