Nairobi — Long billed as the precursor to the Olympics, the past weekend's national trials for the quadrennial games indeed lived up to expectations.
It was always expected to be a high octane event where every athlete was out to realise their Olympics dreams.
Rarely has one seen so many elite runners - the crème-de-la-crème - coalesced in one place united by a common purpose of booking their tickets to the Paris Games.
Just like the Fifa World Cup and the Olympics, the national trials attracted a capacity crowd that thronged the Nyayo Stadium to savour the entertainment that was on offer on the track.
Also in attendance were past Kenyan athletes who, having hang their spikes, could not miss the opportunity of a nostalgia by watching the current crop continue the country's reputation as the cradle of athletics.
A case in point was two-time Olympics 3000m steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi who rushed to the finish line to hug the 2021 World Under 20 champion Amos Serem, bronze medalist Simon Koech and World 3000m steeplechase bronze medalist Abraham Kibiwott.
The manner in which the trio crossed the finish line, one after the other, must have stirred the legend's mind with memories of his days when he would break out in a jig at the finish line after a virtuoso performance.
The 2016 Olympics 5000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot must have been smiling with glee as she watched world champion Faith Kipyegon, Beatrice Chebet and Margaret Chelimo push each other to the limit in the women's 5000m before Kipyegon eventually took first place.
As she shared a tight embrace with Kipyegon, many must have been keeping faith that the hug between the two legends symbolises a passing of the baton considering Cheruiyot was the last Kenyan to win an Olympics gold in the women's 5000m.
The event reached a crescendo when the competitors in the men's 100m lined up at the start block.
Everyone was on the feet to witness eight sprinters in a race against time - as far as the Olympics qualifying standard for the men's 100m is concerned.
In the end, African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala showed why he is Kenya's best sprints export with a world lead of 9.79 to continue his impressive build-up for the Paris Olympics.
He was not the only one with an earth shattering moment on the day; world 800m silver medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi continues to transcend the boundaries of impossibility with the third fastest time of 1:41.70 in the men's 800m.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
His world lead on Saturday was the definition of a perfect comeback after tripping and falling down in the semi-finals of the same competition, the previous day.
It is only a matter of when and not if David Rudisha's world record of 1:40.91 falls at the hands (or rather, feet) of his younger countryman.
As a close confidant remarked, "this is a competition where you can never hear chants of Chebukati must go! Every result is laid bare for all and sundry to see."
Indeed, there was no contention over the makeup of the team to fly the national flag at Paris; each and every name on the final list had shed blood, sweat and tears on the track to book their place.
Attention now turns to the quadrennial games where every one with Kenyan blood in their veins will be hoping for the best-ever performance to date since the Beijing Olympics in 2008 where the country harvested 16 medals (six gold, four silver and six bronze).
