Athletics Kenya (AK) on Monday announced the selection mode that will be used to select its Olympic team during the national athletics trials to be held this weekend.
Athletics Kenya chairman Isaiah Kiplagat said that the first two athletes across the line will automatically make the team with the third being selected by a panel of selectors.
"It will be one and two across the line and the third one will be selected by a panel. In most cases anyway, it will be 1-2-3 across the line unless there is a special or exceptional situation where we have to include someone who has not crossed the line," said Kiplagat.
The athletics body also announced that it will let athletes compete in some races ahead of the Olympics.
Kiplagat said that there will be more than a month from the trials to the games and that it would only be fair to let the athletes compete in a few races to stay sharp provide they get permission from the coaches.
The two day trials will be held on July 4th and 5th in Nairobi. African 800m champion Pamela Jelimo said she was happy with her performances at the national championships and is looking forward to the trials.
"I wanted to see where I was in terms of speed ahead of the trails because 800 meters is so fast almost like 400 meters and I was happy with my performance," Jelimo said.
The 18-year-old said she was looking forward to the Olympics. "I am now training for the Olympics. We are going to do the best at the trials and train hard and make our team the best so that when we get out there we shall do Kenyans proud," said Jelimo. She was full of praise of the pre-Olympic training camps held in Eldoret and Nairobi saying they had been of great help.
"The teamwork between athletes was very good because athletes who had no place to train got a chance to train well and improve because they were training with other athletes and had coaches to guide them," she said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2008)