Julius Yego gets wild card for World Championships
The history-making 2015 World javelin champion, Julius Yego is the latest inclusion in Team Kenya for the World Athletics Championships scheduled for July 15 to 24 in Oregon, United States.
Athletics Kenya (AK) president Jack Tuwei disclosed that the 33-year-old Yego has been handed a wild card by World Athletics owing to his superior world ranking this year.
Yego might have fallen short of attaining the World Athletics Championships qualifying standards of 85 metres, but his throw of 80.62m during the trials for World Championships and Commonwealth Games on June 25 at the Moi International Sports Centre, did the trick.
Yego, who won his fourth continental title after throwing 79.62m during the Africa Senior Athletics Championships that ended June 12 at Cote d'Or National Sports Complex in Mauritius, was ranked 24th in the world by June 26.
“We are happy to have Yego qualify for the world event because it increases our medal chances,” said Tuwei.
Yego was only named in the team for the Commonwealth Games programmed for July 28 to August 8 in Birmingham, England.
Yego, the 2013 Commonwealth Games champion, will be making his third appearance at the World Championships, having finished fourth at the 2013 edition in Moscow, before his historic performance at 2015 event in Beijing, China.
The nine-time national champion entered the history books as the first Kenyan to win a field event title at the world championships, accomplishing the feat in Beijing in an African Record of 92.72m on August 26, 2015.
After winning the Kenya Police Service Athletics Championships in 73.72m on April 15, Yego would seal his ninth national title with a throw of 76.57m on April 28, before finishing second at the Kip Keino Classic on May 7 with a throw of 79.59m.
Yego, the 2016 Rio Olympic silver medallist and two-time African Games champion, will now double up at the World Athletics Championships and the "Club"Games.
Yego will be making his second appearance at the "Club" Games, having finished sevethn in 2010 Delhi, India, before winning in 2014 Glasgow, Scotland.
Team Kenya has 47 athletes for Oregon and a similar number for Birmingham.
They reported for residential training on Monday last week BY DAILY NATION
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