World Relays star Mercy Oketch out to punch women’s 400m ticket to Tokyo on Saturday
Fresh from bagging Mixed Relays bronze for Kenya in
Guangzhou, 22-year-old eyes Absa Kip Keino Classic honours
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 28- Freshly minted World Relays bronze medallist Mery Adongo Oketch will be aiming to kill two birds with one stone this Saturday (May 31).
The Kenyan sprinter is aiming to secure a home victory and qualify for the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships in the women’s 400m race at the Absa Kip Keino Classic — the sixth stop of the 2025 World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series.
Oketch, who already has a ticket to Japan as part of the Kenyan quartet that won the third medal at the Guangzhou 2025 World Relays on May 10, running the anchor leg as the East Africans rounded off the podium behind United States and Australia. in the 4x400m Mixed Relay.
David Sanayek Kapirante, Mercy Chebet and Brian Tinega went out before her as Kenya clocked a season’s best of 3:13.10 for the bronze.
The 22-year-old is now aiming to run the qualifying standard for Tokyo 2025 in the individual women’s 400m at the Ulinzi Sports Stadium in Nairobi to sustain her rich vein of form.
“I have not competed since the World Relays. I’ve had enough rest and prepared well for Kip Keino in order to achieve my dream," said Oketch, who also serves as a Kenya Defence Forces officer attached to the Moi Air Base.
She is banking on the vociferous home support to spur her push for Tokyo.
"I’ve been working on my take-off from the blocks and mastering the curves. Competing in a top-tier event at home, where I train, will be interesting with all eyes on me. I know I will have all the support I need from my colleagues and fans,” the sprinter added.
Team USA clinched gold in a championship record time of 3:09.54, while Australia took silver in an area record of 3:12.20.
Confidence Boost
Oketch described the bronze medal as a major confidence boost, adding it to her silver medal in the 400m at the Continental Military Games, where she clocked 55.43 seconds.
Mariama Fatao of Ghana won the race in 54.90, while Rahel Tesfaye of Ethiopia placed third in 55.58.
“After finishing my recruitment training, my body didn’t respond immediately to the training schedule. I was patient, and my coach Josephine Nyarunda understood that it would take some time. Bagging a bronze medal at the World Relays was unexpected,” said Oketch.
“I was very happy — it really motivated me and confirmed that I can achieve more if I set my mind to it, especially since the field was very competitive and had more experienced runners than me.”
The one-lap specialist was inspired to take up sprinting after watching Olympic bronze medallist and women’s 800m world champion Mary Moraa win silver at the World Under-18 Championships held in Nairobi in 2017.
“When I watched how she executed her race, I developed the desire to win my own medal. That’s how I started running. I caught the attention of coach Haron Onchonga who taught me the basic techniques and race execution.
“It resulted to winning the 400 metres at the 2019 national championships in Mombasa and got selected for the East African Secondary School Games in Arusha, Tanzania, where I won a silver in the 4x400m relay.” she explained.
Oketch will face a strong field, including her mixed relay teammate and national champion Mercy Chebet, Africa Championships bronze medallist Esther Mbagari, Norwegian duo Ertzgaard Lakeri and Eriksen Josefine, and Uganda’s Leni Shida on Saturday.
-By Charity Wanja | Freelance Journalist
-Photos: Peter Njoroge
