体坛英语新闻：Kenya to send strong team to World Indoor Championships in USA

NAIROBI, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Kenya hopes to improve its performance at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, which will be held in in Portland, Oregon, the United States from March 17-20.

Barnaba Korir, the Athletics Kenya Vice President, said they intend to send a bigger team to the championships and hopes they will get better results than two years ago in Sopot, Poland where Kenya was 10th with just one gold (Caleb Mwangangi) and one silver medal (Helen Obiri).

However, Korir noted that there will be no trials to select the team to the World Indoor Championships and that they will focus on results attained in IAAF Indoor circuit in Europe and the United States to pick a team of at least 10 Kenyans.

Defending 3,000m champion Caleb Mwangangi confirmed that he is keen to defend his title and test his preparedness ahead of the Rio Olympics in August. Only Mwangangi and Obiri (Hellen) won medals for Kenya in Poland two years ago from a team of eight athletes.

"We will get the names for the athletes interested and rank them according to their time performance or their current form and the final two in each category will earn a place in the team," said Korir on Saturday in Nairobi.

Obiri will be aiming to return to fitness after a year sabbatical to give birth and hopes her return will be boosted by a medal in Portland. Obiri was Kenya's sole reigning world indoor champion in the Polish city two years ago and though she lost her gold medal to Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia, she is still hopeful to reclaim the 3,000m title she won four years ago in Istanbul.

Some of the athletes keen to compete for Kenya include former world indoor silver medallist Augustine Choge (3,000m) together with Mwangangi, and 2011 world silver medallist Silas Kiplagat, who contests his specialist event of 1,500m.

"The showpiece is nearer and we are set to select the team in January as the event only takes fewer participants unlike the other championships," said Korir.

Kenya will be represented in 800m, 1,500m and 3,000m and field events.

The athletes will gauge their fitness prior to turning their focus on the Rio Olympic Games.

"It will be a good testing ground for the track and field athletes who also wish to make a cut into the Team Kenya for Olympics. I believe it will be a platform to achieve better time performances," he said.