Kephas Kasten off to Cameroon
Lilongwe-based long distance runner, Kephas Kasten, flew off to Cameroon on Thursday to represent Malawi at this year’s African Cross-country championship.
Athletics Association of Malawi (AAM) president, Godfrey Phiri, said Kasten will compete in the continental event tomorrow.
Phiri stated that having sourced only K1 million out of the required K5 million, which was needed to send four runners and a coach to the tournament, AAM settled for Kasten.
“Having failed to raise the remaining K4 million, we were faced with the challenge of choosing one athlete for the trip,” Phiri said.
He disclosed that the association settled for Kasten because the time he clocked was very good
“The conditions are very tough there. You need someone who can manage to look after himself and bring home the results in such a hostile environment,” Phiri explained.
AAM general secretary, Frank Chitembeya, is on record to have said that sending an athlete to the event would mend the association’s relationship with the sport’s world governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (Iaaf).
“Iaaf did not give us our annual grant of the equivalent of about K11 million for last year after we missed out on the 2014 tournament. So, we are assured of the grant this time around,” Chitembeya explained.
Coach John Mwathiwa said Kasten would need to concentrate on speed and endurance to perform well at the event.
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