NAIROBI, Kenya, May 3, 2026 - Despite missing out on a medal at the World Relays, Kenyan sprinter Mercy Oketch is still hopeful that this season will be the best ever in her career, thus far.
The national record holder remains unbowed by the disappointment in Botswana and vowed to soldier on in her pursuit for more success.
"Yes, I am still working hard on it. I hope for this season to be the best season of my life," Oketch said.
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Oketch was part of the 4x400m mixed relay team that narrowly missed out on the podium at the global championships, after finishing fourth in the final on Sunday evening.
The quartet of Oketch, George Mutinda, Mercy Chebet and Kiprotich Tonui clocked 3:09.93, in a race won by the American team of Paris Peoples, Bryce Deadmon, Jenoah McKiver and Bailey Lear who clocked 3:07.47.
Jamaica (Deandre Watkin, Shana Kaye Anderson, Antonio Watson and Rushell Clayton) came second in 3:08.24 whereas Great Britain's Alex Haydock-Wilson, Lina Nielsen, Jake Minshull and Yemi Mary John bagged bronze after clocking 3:09.84.
Looking back to their performance over the weekend, Oketch was more focused on the positives.
She pointed out that the team lowered their previous time, particularly on Day One when they set an African record of 3:09.87 on Saturday to qualify for next year's World Championships in Beijing.
"Every time we are coming for competition, we hit a 3.11, 3.10, 3.15 and now we are in 3.09. We are still working on it and we are hoping for the best," Oketch said.
At a personal level, it has been a standout season thus far for the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) athlete as her star continues to shine brighter on the track.
She began the season by setting a national indoor record for the women's 400m, clocking 51.53 at the Metz Indoor Tour.
Oketch then reached the finals of the women's 400m at the World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland in March before ultimately finishing fifth.
Come last month's Kip Keino Classic at the Nyayo Stadium, she cruised to victory in the women's 400m, courtesy of a season's best (SB) of 50.17 before clocking a world lead of 35.77 on her way to success in the women's 300m at the Akani Simbine Classic.
Oketch also grabbed headlines at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix in Ethiopia where she finished second in her specialty after timing 50.28.
Having secured a second ever appearance at the World Championships, the 23-year-old is determined to make it count with a medal in China.
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"We are going to work on it and we promise we are coming back strong. Today was the toughest day so far, but we tried our best. It was the best opportunity, but always one is required. We are going to work on it," she said.
All said and done, Oketch's consistency in the women's 400m is yet another evidence of Kenya's emergence as a hotbed of sprints talents.
