Top athletes from the country have also confirmed participation and registration is still ongoing. Kenyans will be battling for top honours against athletes from Eritrea, Qatar, Sweden, Norway, Europe and America.
It will be a great opportunity for fans to come together and support their favourite athletes as they take on the course in a quest to make Kenyans proud on home soil. The presence of international athletes makes it even more interesting because one gets a chance to see some of the great runners in person as opposed to always seeing them on the televisions.
Kenya’s Reynold Kipkorir headline’s the field with a personal best time of 13:33.05 over the 5000m distance. He is a World Under-20 1500m champion, a title he won during the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia last year.
Eritrea’s Merhawi Mebrahtu is one of the international athletes who has confirmed participation. Mebrahtu is a World Under-20 5000m silver medallist. His previous outing in Kenya was during the 2021 World Under-20 Championships where he placed fifth in the 3000m. Across the 5000m distance, he has a personal best time of 13:04.49 (current national under-20 record).
Other Kenyan athletes taking part in the competition include 2021 World Under-20 5000m champion Benson Kiplagat. Kiplagat has a life time best of 13:10.41 and he will be joined by Ezekiel Mutai.
According to Athletics Kenya Youth Development chairman Barnaba Korir, staging a successful second edition of the event will prove to the World that the country is able to host other global events.
Meanwhile, Korir has also revealed that three-time World Cross-country champion Geoffrey Kamworor and 2019 under-20 World Cross-country champion Beatrice Chebet have also shown interest to participate in the event.
The duo is currently camping at Kigari Teachers Training College in preparation for the World Cross-country Championships slated for February 18 in Bathurst, Australia.
Korir said they are in talks with the committee to see if that happens as it will be a great opportunity for them as they prepare for the global show.
“Kamworor and Chebet have since shown interest to be part of the Cross-country but the matter is under the discussion of the committee. It will be a great opportunity for them as they get ready for the World Cross-country in Bathurst,” Korir said.