The Kenya cross country team for the 41st IAAF World Cross in Guiyang, China got a fitting send off on Monday night with the rank and file in the team promising to illuminate the biennial showpiece on Saturday.
World Cross campaigners, 2011 junior men champion, Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor and 2013 junior women 6km finisher, Janet Kisa, now graduated seniors, were appointed captains of the male and women squads for the traditional powerhouses who depart Tuesday evening for the Far East.
“We have trained well, listened to all instructions and what remains now is to go out there and make our nation proud in China. We will give the best,” Kamworor who completed a gun to tape victory over 8km in Punta Umbria, Spain said.
Speaking at a grand send-off dinner hosted by team sponsors Kenya Commercial Bank at a Nairobi hotel, Athletics Kenya (AK) president, Isaiah Kiplagat, told the team to aim at replicating the performance of Bydgoszcz, Poland 2010 where the Kenyans swept all eight gold medals on offer in individual and team competitions.
“We lost the junior men title in Poland and we should ensure we bring it back and hold on to the others. Bring back glory, everyone is waiting for you,” the veteran administrator who has been at the helm of the national federation for 22 years urged.
“Squabbles or no squabbles, AK will prepare the teams to represent Kenya in the best possible way,” he added in assuring the current wrangles between his executive and 14 affiliate branches would not affect their resolve to send out the best squads to don the famed green, red and black jerseys.
“For three weeks, we have seen all the squads get to almost the same level of form and it was difficult to determine which runners to drop or retain because the group we were given to train are in good shape to compete for medals,” head coach, David Letting, underscored the hardship of selecting the final squad of 24 from the 27 who were invited to the team’s training camp in Kigari, Embu, some 200km east of the capital Nairobi.
Commissioner for Sport, Gordon Olouch, picked up on the theme stating, “AK has led by example in keeping politics out of the team.”
He confirmed the Kenya Government had catered for all tickets and allowances for the team and its officials with cash rewards waiting top performers in individual and team categories.
Two-time World Cross women’s champion, Emily Chebet is the most decorated athlete in the Kenyan line-up.
SQUAD
Senior men: Leonard Barsoton, Geoffrey Kamworor, Bedan Karoki, Joseph Kitum, Phillip Langat, Moses Letoyie Mukono
Senior women: Emily Chebet, Irene Cheptai, Agnes Tirop, Margaret Kipkemboi, Janet Kisa, Stacy Ndiwa
Junior men: Rodgers Chumo, Dominic Kiptarus, Moses Koech, Geoffrey Korir, John Langat, Alfred Ngeno
Junior women: Rosefline Chepngetich, Joyline Cherotich, Daisy Jepkemei, Gladys Kipkoech, Winnie Koima, Winfred Mbithe
