Kenya: 13 Athletes Set for 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Japan Forward of Paris Paralympics Qualifier

Nairobi — The Kenya Nationwide Paralympic Committee (KNPC) has picked a squad of 13 athletes that may compete within the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships scheduled for Might 17 to 25 in Kobe, Japan.

The group of 9 males and 4 girls may have three guides and 4 coaches. The World Para Athletics Championships is the ultimate athletics qualifier occasion forward of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Video games.

The Paris Summer season Video games, which can function 549 occasions in 22 sporting disciplines, are scheduled to run from August 28 to September 8 within the French capital.

Seven Kenyan para athletes have thus far certified for Paris Paralympics in 4 disciplines – athletics, biking, taekwondo and rowing.

Out of the seven qualifiers, three are from athletics – Nancy Chelangat (1,500 T11), Kenya’s sole medallist from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Mary Waithera (1,500 T11) and Wesley Sang (1,500 T46).

Kenya was represented by 5 athletes in athletics on the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. They’re Chelangat, multi-Paralympic medallist Samuel Mushai Kimani, Eric Sang Kiptoo, Wilson Bii, and Rodgers Kiprop.

KNPC secretary basic, Stanley Mutuma, hopes that the nation will qualify greater than 9 athletes for Paralympics from the Kobe championships.

Eldoret-based visually impaired athlete Mushai is a part of the squad that will likely be hoping for good fortunes in Kobe as he chases an opportunity for a fifth Paralympics look.

Mushai, who misplaced his sight on the age of 9 after an sickness, and has three medals from the Paralympics – two gold and a silver. He’ll compete within the males’s 5,000m T11 in Kobe.

He received 1,500m T11 silver at 2008 Beijing Paralympics, which he improved to gold 4 years later on the 2012 London Paralympic Video games in a World and Video games Report 3:58:37.

Mushai, the 2017 London and 2019 Dubai world 5,000m T11 champion, went on to seal a double on the 2016 Rio Paralympics with victory within the 5,000m T11.

In Rio, Mushai shocked a wealthy elite subject that included Brazil’s seven-time world champion and residential favorite Odair Santos, who led with two laps to go, to triumph in 15:16.11, shying simply 5 seconds of the world document set by his countryman Henry Wanyoike again in 2004.

Mushai competed within the 1,500m and 5,000m T11, however didn’t make the rostrum in Tokyo.

“It is my dream to make it to my fifth Paralympic Video games. I did not carry out effectively in Tokyo as a result of I used to be coming from a nagging damage,” stated Mushai, who’s at the moment coaching with the center and distance athletes in Nandi.

“God has been good to me and I do not take it as a right. I pray for good well being as we put together for Kobe in Kobe” defined Mushai.

Others going to Kobe are visually impaired athlete Bii who misplaced the battle to Mushai and Santos in 2016 Rio in 5,000m T11 to accept bronze, and Sang.

Bii has represented Kenya at two Summer season Paralympics, starting in London in 2012, the place he competed within the 5,000m T11 however failed to complete the race earlier than putting bronze in Rio 4 years later.

Sang and Bii competed within the 1,500m T11 Tokyo however whereas Bii exited within the preliminaries, Sang reached the ultimate to complete sixth in 4:21.53. Brazilian Yeltsin Jacques received in a World and Video games Report 3:57.60, erasing Mushai time from Rio.

Kiprop and Bii teamed up within the 5,000m T11 remaining in Tokyo however completed fourth and tenth as Jacques sealed a double.

Workforce for World Para Athletics Championships, Kobe, Japan

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