Syombua ready to make mark in Tokyo

The national women’s 400 metres record holder Hellen Syombua has set her sights on having a successful show at the Tokyo Olympic Games as Kenya makes her debut in the quarter mile race in the multi-sport event due on July 23.

Syombua, whose mark of 51.09 is the fastest in the country over a lap, says she has her work cut out ahead of the kick-off date, adding that she is ready to change Kenya’s fortunes in sprints.

The country’s new gem in the women’s 400m gives the country high hopes of winning an elusive medal in short races at the Summer Games but she is wary of sprint-dominant countries like the United States of America and Bahamas, among others.

“The history of Kenya in sprints has always not been good but that could change during the Olympics. I’m prepared and cautiously optimistic ahead of the Games because I know the challenge from the established countries but I don’t fear them,” Syombua told Citizen Digital.

The 23-year-old, alongside speedsters Ferdinand Omanyala and Mark Otieno, on Tuesday were the first batch of Track and Field athletes to depart for a pre-Games training camp in Kurume.

The trio have since joined Team Kenya’s advance party in Kurume for the final phase of their training before the pandemic-postponed multi-sport event kick off.

“We landed safely in Tokyo and underwent the mandatory Covid-19 tests before coming to Kurume where we’ve started the training already. I hope I will be in top form before I start my heats on August 3rd,” she added.

At the 2019 World Championships held in Yokohama, Japan, Syombua was part of the quartet that bagged a bronze medal in the 4X400m mixed relay.