BERLIN, August 19 – Three Kenyans won their heats as the 800 metres quartet easily made the semifinals of the 800 metres on a sunny morning in day six of the World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
Africa champion David Rudisha, reigning world champion Alfred Kirwa Yego and former World junior silver medallist Jackson Kivuva won their heats respectively Olympic 1500 metres silver medallist Asbel Kiprop was second in his heat.
Running in heat five, Kirwa stayed infront throughout the race before applying a finishing kick to finish in 1:48.32.
“I am very happy with my start. We have been waiting and finally I have run. My body is feeling good and hopefully by tomorrow everything will be even better,” said Kirwa.
Next up was the pride of Africa Rudisha who easily covered the ground in the final 400 metres to win in1:47.83. It was his debut at the championships and he was elated especially after missing out on Beijing.
“I am happy we have started well and I hope we are going to get even better. The semifinals will tell as exactly where we stand,” said Rudisha.
The third Kenyan to win his heat was Kivuva. Running a very smart race, the Armed Forces stayed at the shoulder of the through until the last 150 metres when he shifted through the gears to easily clinch victory in a time of 1:46.17.
Looking ahead to the semifinals, the trio stated that it will pose the greatest challenge yet.
“The semifinals will be very tough. Tomorrow will resemble a final. Being there in the final will be a privilege and one will have to work extremely hard just to be in the final eight,” said Kirwa.
The semis are always very tough because only 1-2 automatically for the final in so its going to be tough because qualifying as a fastest loser depends on luck so you have to ensure you are there,” said Rudisha.
For Kivuva it will be all about tactics.
“Semifinals will not be a joke. It will be a proper competition but I am confident I will make it. I just have to run smart because the races are so tactical. Mohammed Saad has been locked out despite the fact that he is fourth in the world this year so its very tricky you have to think. It will all depend with the pace. If it’s slow or fast then you know what to do,” said Kivuva.
Banana Republic
April 20, 2012 at 6:28 am
Its about time we had some sanity on our roads.We’ve had too many people maimed, injured and even more lose their lives.The ‘Michuki Rules’ brought about temporary reprieve but lately we’ve sunk back to our carelessness.I hope the bill passes
Rut_o
May 19, 2012 at 10:07 am
These laws will not sort us out. Yes we have accidents on our roads but it requires more in depth investigation of the problem than just what is being offered here. EG The police apart from the statistics of deaths and injuries can they tell us how many drivers have charged for various offenses under the current laws.
Section 12 is amended to make it un offense when you dont renew your insurance cover on time. Why do you need a cover for a vehicle which is grounded? When somebody returns the plates of the grounded vehicle when you decide to revive it you will have to apply for the same plates. Why do we had more work to kra which is overwhelmed already?
Section thirty removes the time a license is valid how is it supposed to work unless you do away with renewals?
Sentences for section 44, 45, have been enhanced if the police have been unable to enforce the current penalties what guarantee do we have they will do it now apart from increasing their bribe demands.
Section 45a criminalizes driving through pavements what about when a genuine case arises where vehicles cause accidents and the road is blocked are the vehicles behind expected to stay there until the police come and remove them? The falure by the local authorities to erect barriers on pavements and foot paths should not be shifted to the motorists.
Section 69a is supposed to address the roadblocks menace. We have situation where roadblocks are mounted in close proximity by one police station to mainly collect bribes. This section does not address this problem fully.
Section 70 talks about speed limits. Have the authorities come up with any sturdy about to days capabilities of vehicles and the kind of roads we have. We are still using the old speeds which were fixed by colonialists. Why can’t we have different speeds for different roads?
Section 100 criminalizes an owner who is not even near the vehicle. Vehicle owners do not load people on the vehicles.
Section 103 prescribes the uniform to be worn. What about the companies which would like their own unique uniform. How did they arrive at those uniforms.
A thorough study should be carried out to accommodate all dimensions of road safety. They 3 elements involved (Driver, Vehicle and Road) Should analyzed and policies formulated accordingly.