Mercy Oketch at the Tokyo World Championships/ HANDOUT

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National 400m champion Mercy Oketch will spearhead the country’s bid for medals at the World Indoor Championships in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland, from March 20–22.
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The 400m standout aims to secure her maiden global crown, building on a season that has seen her consistently perform on the international indoor circuit.
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Oketch heads a six-member squad named by Athletics Kenya, which blends experienced competitors and emerging talent across sprints and middle-distance events.
The team also includes 400m indoor record holder Brian Tinega, 2022 World Indoor 800m silver medallist Noah Kibet, women’s 800m athlete Rosemary Longisa, 2022 World 5,000m silver medallist Jacob Krop, and 1,500m specialist Susan Ejore.
The 400m star has impressed in Europe this year, opening her campaign with a commanding 52.98 victory at the 27th Internationales Leichtathletik Meeting in Chemnitz, Germany, outkicking Germany’s Johanna Martin (53.05) and the Czech Republic’s Katerina Smilauerova (54.15).
She followed this with a podium finish at the Madrid World Indoor Tour Gold, clocking 52.25 behind the Netherlands’ Lieke Klaver (51.26) and Spain’s Blanca Hervas (51.59), before returning to winning form at the Meeting Metz Moselle in France with 51.53.
“The season opener was just the beginning. I trusted my training, embraced the nerves, and competed with confidence. Hungry for what’s next,” Oketch said. She will be looking to improve on her Tokyo World Championships performance, where she fell short of the final after finishing seventh in her semi-final heat in 51.36.
Tinega brings confidence after smashing a 31-year-old national indoor record, clocking 45.68 for second at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field meeting in Texas, eclipsing Charles Gitonga’s 1995 mark of 45.98.
Longisa, a student at Washington University, has also impressed indoors, winning the mile (4:24.59) at the Seattle Invitational, finishing second in the 800m (1:59.71) at the Husky Classic, and placing third over 1,000m (2:38.26) at the Dempsey Indoor Meet.
Kibet has recorded victories at the Czech Indoor Gala (1:46.71) and a second-place finish in Moscow (1:45.77), while Krop has claimed runner-up finishes at Karlsruhe (7:38.64) and Hauts-de-France (7:34.68) over 3,000m. Ejore has clocked 4:22.23 in the mile at the Millrose Games and 8:37.84 for third in the 3,000m at the Sound Running Invite.