Kirwa calls for revamped selection criteria for men's 5,000m/ 10,000m

Julius Kirwa/ FILE

National athletics coach Julius Kirwa has called for an overhaul of the selection criteria for Kenya’s 5000m and 10,000m teams, particularly in the men’s category.

Kirwa said they will go back to the drawing board and re-examine how athletes are picked, amid concerns that many 10,000m runners are prioritising road races over track events — undermining their performance in championships.

He is frustrated with athletes attempting to juggle between road and track competitions, warning that they must now make a choice.

“We can’t continue accommodating athletes who want to double-deal in 10,000m and road races. They must choose what they want between the road and the track. Things must change for us to compete effectively at the top level,” he said.

Going forward, only the winner at national trials will be guaranteed a place on the Kenyan team. Those finishing in positions two to four will be taken into camp, but final team selection will be made closer to the championships.

This change is partly driven by a recent case where an athlete selected for the 10,000m team left training camp to run a 21km road race.

Kirwa said something must be done urgently to improve performance in both the 5000m and 10,000m events.

Kenya has not won the men’s 10,000m title since Charles Kamathi’s victory at the 2001 World Athletics Championships in Edmonton, Canada. In the 5000m, the last Kenyan win came in 2005 through Benjamin Limo in Helsinki, Finland.

In addition, Kirwa said the marathon team needs restructuring. Marathoners usually plan their seasons well in advance, and the late approach by the federation has often led to top athletes turning down invitations.

“We need to inform the marathoners even eight months in advance so that they can have it in their itinerary. This year, we approached them as late as June, and most of them turned us down. Whoever we had here, especially in the men’s category, was our last resort, and we really had to beg,” he explained.

Kirwa said he would return to the grassroots to encourage some 1500m runners to move up to the 5000m in a bid to develop depth and sustainability in the long-distance events. 

He congratulated the medallists from Tokyo, where the women surpassed their male compatriots.

He attributed the women’s slightly higher representation to the presence of wildcards in events such as the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m, allowing Kenya to field four athletes per event.

The men’s team had no defending champions from Budapest and therefore did not benefit from wildcards.