The 18th Edition of the World Under 20 Athletics Championships is set to kick off on Wednesday in Kenya, the first African country to host the biennial competition.
More than 1,400 athletes from over 100 countries will take part in the five-day age-group championship, with main events taking place in Moi International Sports Centre Stadium, Kasarani.
The buildup to the championship has been marred by withdrawals, caution and skepticism but the country was able to place everything in order with nearly all participants already in Nairobi.
Several young stars who raced in the Tokyo Olympics are set to participate in the championship including Switzerland sprinter Ditaji Kambundji, Namibia’s Christine Mboma and hammer thrower Silja Kosonen from Finland.
The 19-year-old Kambundji claimed the European U20 title in 100m hurdles before Olympics where she finished eighth in her heat.
She boasts of a personal best of 12.94, which is the Swiss U20 record, and also sits second on this season’s world U20 list behind only Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent (12.76).
For Kosone, who is just aged 17, she boasts of a 71.34m throw that moved her to third on the world U20 all-time list,At the Olympics, she threw 70.49m in the qualification round.
Hosts Kenya has a team of 43 athletes where several of them will be out to retain titles won during the 2018 World Athletics Championships held in Tampere, Finland.
African U20 1500m champion Vincent Keter, African U18 3000m champion Zena Jemutai Yego and African U18 800m silver medalist Sheila Chepkosgei are among the athletes on the team.
The World Under 20 Championships will kick off with the qualification round of 4x400m relay after being delayed from Tuesday due to impact on teams travelling, and logistics of moving vital equipment around the world
