Polish throwers Eryk Kolodziejczak, European Under 20 champion Dawid Piłat and silver medalist Tomasz Ratajczyk are the first team to jet into Nairobi for this month’s World U20 championships.

The event will be held at the Kasarani Stadium on 17 – 22 August 2021.

The Poles arrived in the country one day after Team Kenya, comprising 45 athletes, went into their official hotel for the competition along Mombasa Road as the young runners focus on delivering medals on home soil, a feat achieved when their U17 compatriots achieved during the 2017 championships held at the same stadium.

Kolodziejczak said, following the first day of training in Nairobi, that he hopes to get a chance to meet and train with former Commonwealth and World Champion Julius Yego, who he says is his role model and whom he has watched on YouTube before the championship.

Kamar Etyang, the 1,500 metres runner who missed out on the Tokyo Olympics ticket due to doping control shortcomings, has been drafted into the Kenyan squad. Etyang was removed from the Tokyo-bound team because he had not been tested enough prior to the Olympics trials as required of World Athletics categorisation for Kenya when entering athletes for global championships.

More than 128 countries are expected at the championships, the second global sporting event to be hosted in Kenya just two months after the historic World Rally Championship Safari Rally made its return for the first time in 18 years.