Dj Vnyash
The Kenyan relay team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games had to wait until the last minute to secure their spot through world rankings. Although they missed direct qualification at the World Relay Championship in the Bahamas, they made it through by leveraging their world ranking.
The team consists of Mercy Chebet, Boniface Mweresa (competing in his second Olympics), Maureen Thomas, Veronica Mutua, David Sanayek, Tauta Sane, and Kelvin Kipkorir. Despite the last-minute qualification, they are determined to make an impact and challenge top teams in the mixed relay event.
Introduced in the 2017 World Athletics Championship, the mixed relay consists of two male and two female runners. Boniface Mweresa, a seasoned sprinter, highlighted that their training is nearly complete with just one week remaining. He expressed gratitude for the support from athletes like Mary Moraa and acknowledged the challenges they faced during the qualification process.
Although Botswana and South Africa currently lead in terms of timing, Mweresa believes the team can compete effectively if they run splits of around 44 seconds. He emphasizes that the key to success is running fast and strategically planning their tactics, particularly in the exchange zones, which have been a challenge for many teams, including the USA.
The team is focusing on improving their baton exchanges and acceleration to avoid losing ground during transitions. Maureen Thomas, making her Olympic debut, is excited about representing Kenya and is also pleased with their training progress.
