Kip Keino Classic: Omanyala, Wanyonyi, Usoro, Oketch Lead African Stars Ready to Light Up Nairobi Track
African athletics will take center stage on Friday (24) when the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold arrives in Nairobi for the seventh edition of the Kip Keino Classic.
With a new track, wavelight technology, and an evening programme, the event promises to be one of the most thrilling yet, and African stars are poised to dominate.
Kenya’s sprint king Ferdinand Omanyala returns to the Nyayo National Stadium, the venue where he set his African 100m record of 9.77 in 2021. Fresh from a 9.98 win in Addis Ababa last weekend, Omanyala will once again carry the hopes of the home crowd as he faces international challengers.
Nigeria’s Ruth Usoro, a national record-holder in the triple jump, will look to build on her 6.65m start in the long jump as she takes on Burkina Faso’s Marthe Koala. Rising Kenyan talent Mercy Oketch is another athlete to watch, as she chases her own national 400m record of 50.14 against a strong international field.
In the middle distances, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Olympic and world champion, will step up to the 1500m, joining compatriots Timothy Cheruiyot, Reynold Cheruiyot, Brian Komen, and Abel Kipsang in a stacked line-up.
The men’s 800m will also showcase African depth, with Botswana’s Kethobolige Haingura challenging Kenya’s Wyclife Kinyamal, Aaron Cheminingwa, and Alex Kipngetich.
Zambia’s Olympic 400m bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga and South Africa’s Gift Leotlela add further star power to the sprints, while Kenya’s Lilian Odira, the reigning world champion, leads the women’s 800m against Ethiopia’s Nigist Getachew and Habtam Gebeyehu.
The men’s 3000m steeplechase remains a Kenyan stronghold, with Amos and Edmund Serem, Abraham Kibiwot, Leonard Bett, and Simon Koech all set to defend home turf against Ethiopian rivals.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s javelin legend Julius Yego, the African record-holder, will aim to reclaim glory in front of his home fans.
