Kenya: Relief, Tears of Joy for Kenya As Relay Teams Qualify Budapest World Championships

31 July 2023
Capital FM (Nairobi)
By Omondi Onyatta

Nairobi — The men's national team for the 4x400m as well as their counterparts in the 4x400m mixed relay have qualified for next month's World Championships in Budapest.

The mixed relay team - comprising Commonwealth Games 800m champions Mary Moraa and Wycliffe Kinyamal, Bonface Mweresa and Naomi Korir - had suffered a setback at the True Athletes Classic Meeting in Germany over the weekend after they were disqualified due to a technical rule violation.

The quartet had been ruled out of their race after beginning the race outside the takeover zones.

Despite the blow, the team still had an outside chance of qualifying for the global showpiece by virtue of their 16th-place ranking.

Speaking ahead of their eventual qualification, Moraa had expressed hope that Lady Luck would smile on them and grant them a chance to debut at the World Championships as a relay team.

"This is the best team in 4x400m mixed relay one could have assembled. It didn't go the way we expected after we got disqualified for violating TR 24.19. We all learn from mistakes. We have our fingers cross until midnight to see if we shall qualify for the Budapest World Athletics Championships through the world ranking. We are currently 16th, the last cut-off in qualification. God is good," Moraa said.

At the same time, the men's 4x400m qualified for the Championships by virtue of their 16th-place ranking on the World Athletics ranking.

This was due to the time of 3.02.02, which was posted by the Kenya Police relay team at the national championships in June.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

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