Kenya postpones premier Africa athletics tour meeting

IANS  |  Nairobi 

The third leg of the African Athletics Tour, which was scheduled for May 19 in Nairobi, has been postponed indefinitely.

The one day event is supposed to simulate the lucrative IAAF

Paul Mutwii, Athletics (AK) in Charge of Competitions, had announced that the one-day meet will only have athletes invited across the continent, who will compete in designated track and field events along the lines of the athletics competitions.

"The objective of the event is to have athletes within the continent compete against and get to know each other because most of them hardly have time to encounter one another," said Mutwii.

The tour is the first pan African circuit of five meetings created by in close collaboration with the federations of South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, and

"It is a series of one-day meetings which are organised in compliance with technical regulations designed by CAA," said Mutwii.

The first meeting was held in (March 22), followed by Asaba (Nigeria) on May 5. Nairobi's turn was to be on May 19 before giving way to (May 26) and the finals in on June 17.

This will then pave the way for the bi-annual Athletics Championships, which will be held in Asaba, in August.

The top two runners in each discipline will earn tickets to compete at the IAAF (Intercontinental Cup) in Ostrava in the

It is the only contested by teams representing entire continents, rather than just those of individual countries.

Most elite track and field African stars rarely compete in their countries and is keen to establish competition that will bring the best to a fest of entertainment in

--IANS

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First Published: Wed, May 09 2018. 15:30 IST