Disqualified Saruni urges on colleagues

Despite bowing out of the of the IAAF World Under-18 Championships on Thursday, Team Kenya Captain David Saruni urged his colleagues to solider on without him.

The second day of the global championships, which ends on Sunday, was characterised by mixed results as Kenya excelled in the middle distance races and performed poorly in the sprints.

Saruni was emotional after being disqualified during the boys 400m hurdles heats. He stepped out of the line thrice making it difficult for the technical department to protest.

“I started the race well. After clearing the second hurdle I tripped. I tried to look for balance and in the process I stepped on the line. I feel sad because I had prepared a lot for this championship. I have accepted what happened, it is already a past tense and I wish the rest of team Kenya the best,” Saruni told Citizen Digital.

Kenyans will pin their medal hopes on Mary Moraa, who was the biggest performer in the sprints booking her ticket to the girls 400m final for Friday.
Meanwhile, Stanley Waithaka will lead the medal hunt in the middle distance races, alongside his teammate Edward Zakayo 3000m finals slated for Sunday.

“The race was not bad, my main aim was to get in the finals, I had the capability to kick like the Ethiopian (Selemon Barega) but I decided to reserve my energy for Sunday. I have studied his game plan and we are going to team up to ensure we bring two medals,” said Waithaka after qualifying in a time of 7:55.73. His counterpart Zakayo did not have an easy run in heat two, citing mischief from his challenger Milkesa Mengesha of Ethiopia.
“He (Mengesha) kept on stepping on me about three times. Each time he did it I lost balance and that is why I was telling him to be careful. I decided to kick so that I can open the gap between us. I feared losing balance and fall down or worse be disqualified. That would have been very disappointing,” he charged.
The two admitted it will be a tough race with their fellow athletes from East Africa will be their greatest challengers. Japheth Kibiwott Torotich sailed comfortably in the boys 800m semifinal while his compatriot Noah Kiprono qualified as the fastest loser for Sunday’s final. Kibiwott was chuffed at Kiprono’s qualification, saying they will team up to choke their competitors in the final.
In the two-lap race, Kiprono covered the first lap at high pace of 56.46 which proved costly as he was out of gas when he needed to unleash finishing power.

In the girls’ category, Lydia Jeruto and Jackline Wambui also secured their places for Friday’s semifinal in 800m.

Jeruto dominated the first heat to stop the timer at 1:05.65 ahead of Chaimae Ismaili (2:13.15) of Morocco and Andreea-Raissa (2:13.15) of Romania.

The third heat was faster with Wambui posting a time of 2:08.24 ahead of Hirut Meshesha(2:09.74) of Ethiopia and Klara Lukan (2:11.66)  of Slovenia.

On Friday, there will be four finals starting with the boys 1,500m where George Managoi and Dominic Kipkemboi hope to score a Kenyan double.

In another potentially exciting race, Caren Chebet and Mercy Chepkirui hope to continue the country’s dominance in the girls 2,000m steeplechase.