Aprot wins, Katui Muia stuns at Prisons XC meet

Olympic 10,000m fourth-finisher and 2014 African Cross champion Alice Aprot together with Olympics bronze medalist Margaret Nyairera Wambui emerged winners in their respective races during the Kenya Prisons Service Cross Country Championships held at Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens Nairobi on Saturday.

Newbie Bernard Katui Muia stunned a strong field to emerge the winner in 29:32 ahead of seasoned runners Justus Kangongo and Cornelius Kangongo.

The tussle for glory between Muia and his two closest challengers was a mouthwatering display of power with the trio vastly inseparable with 200 meters left to go.

However, it was Muia who broke loose with half the distance left on his way to claiming an impressive win.

“I am excited to win this race. It was quite challenging but I was able to win mainly since I had trained well all along. I also had to use my brain in this one to outwit my competitors,” Muiya told Citizen Digital  adding that he was looking forward to making it to the Kenyan team that would represent the country in the World Championships set to be staged in Kampala, Uganda.

In contrast, the women’s race was almost all about Aprot.

The Africa and All Africa Games 10,000mm champion dominated the field, employing her trademark front-running style where she widened the gap to almost 50metres before storming to victory in 32:49 with Nancy Nzinza (33:21) and Pauline Kaveke (33:39) completing the top tree.

“I have been suffering from malaria. I was not sure I’d have been able to complete this race. My target is to participate in the cross country in Uganda .The last time we went to Kampala I really enjoyed the whole experience,” Aprot said.

Nyairera who was participating in a newly incepted 4×2 race said that she was using the race to prepare herself for the championships in Uganda.

She lauded the move to introduce the new race saying that it would bolster her preparation for bigger races like the Diamond league and also the World Cross Country Championships.

“It’s a good thing that this race was started because it has allowed us to start the season early. This will enable us to get back on the track in good condition,” Nyairera who pocketed the 800m bronze in Rio with a personal best of 1:56.89 stated.

 

PROVISIONAL RESULTS. 

SENIOR MEN 10KM

  1. Benard Katuu Muiya 29:32
  2. Justus Kangogo 29:35
  3. Cornelius Kangogo 29:43
  4. Mangata Ndiwa 29:46
  5. Daniel Rop 29:50
  6. Cosmas Birech 29:53

 

SENIOR WOMEN 10KM

  1. Alice Aprot 32:50
  2. Nancy Nzinza 33:22
  3. Pauline Kaveke 33:39
  4. Diana Chemtai 34:17
  5. Pamela Cherotich 34:22
  6. Viola Chemngeno 34:29

-Report by Mwangi Githinji

Tags:

Alice Aprot Katui Muia Prisons Cross country

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