Which way forward? AK toys with post Covid-19 plans

Athletics Kenya (AK) is working out a plan on how to have athletics season resume in the country in post-coronavirus.

The initial 2020 calendar which kicked off last year November was suspended on its early stages owing to the spread of the flu-like virus.

With the World Athletics having released a new calendar, set to start on August, AK president Jackson Tuwei said they are working on plans to prepare athletes for the resumption of the season.

With the Diamond League set to resume on August 14 and Nairobi Continental Tour slated for September 26, Tuwei said they are seeking to organise countrywide events to prepare athletes for the two events.

Prior to the suspension of the season in March, athletes had already concluded the Cross-Country build-up which culminated in the National Cross Country Championships that led to the selection of a team for the Africa Cross Country Championships that were due for Togo, but was consequently cancelled over coronavirus.

According to Tuwei, the federation is mulling over a new calendar to prepare athletes for the resumption of action when the virus is contained.

“For now, we are now looking forward to the Diamond League and Continental Tour because those are the only major events in World Athletics calendar. We are currently working on the programme and when the government relaxes some of the measures, we will start preparing our athletes.”

He added: “We will not return to weekend meetings because it is too late and what we are thinking about is to organise competition from the grassroots all the way to the national level so that we can give our athletes a chance to prepare for the upcoming season,” said Tuwei.

Tuwei regretted the pain the pandemic had caused on athletes with major events either postponed or cancelled.

“You know there is nothing as painful as an athlete preparing for competition and then it doesn’t happen,” observed Tuwei.

Some of the international events that were postponed include the Africa Cross Country Championships slated for Lome, Togo in April 8 as well as Africa Senior Championships slated for Algeria in June.

Similarly, the Olympic Games which was earmarked for this summer in Tokyo, Japan were postponed to 2021.