Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Boniface Mweresa is amazed by the emergence of a new generation of sprinters in the country.
Mweresa believes that these Gen Z sprinters are a force to reckon and will wipe out those who have dominated the industry for a while.
“There is a new crop of sprinters that are emerging. These Gen Z group of sprinters are not to be joked with and it means we who have been doing this for long will have to up our game,” the 31-year-old said.
Mweresa is one of Kenya’s most experienced and active sprinters, having first run at the National Colleges and School Championships in 2011.
As a 19-year-old youngster, he represented the country at the 2012 London Olympics where he was part of the 4x400m relay team that were disqualified in the first round of the competition.
He has also donned the national singlet in various other international competitions, including 2012 World Junior Championships (Barcelona), 2015 World Relays (Bahamas), 2015 All Africa Games (Brazzaville), 2016, 2017 and 2024 World Indoor Championships (Portland), 2016 African Championships (Durban), 2017 World Championships (London), 2018 Commonwealth Games (Gold Coast), 2022 Commonwealth Games (Birmingham), 2023 World Championships (Budapest), 2024 World Indoor Championships (Glasgow), 2024 African Championships (Douala) and the Paris Olympics.
This impressive resume notwithstanding, the veteran is not about to slow down.
He hopes his passport will receive more stamps by travelling outside to represent the country in this year’s competitions, including the World Championships in Tokyo.
Mweresa began his season on a flier with victory in the men’s 100m at the second leg of the Athletics Kenya (AK) Track and Field Weekend meeting in Thika on Saturday afternoon.
He timed 10.1 to cut the tape, ahead of Dennis Mwai (10.2) and Isaac Omurwa (10.2) who came second and third respectively.
Mweresa, a 400m specialist, was delighted to have gotten his season off the ground in the most perfect way.
“I was a bit sore at the beginning but it is a delight to start the season with a win. It was a great race, overall, despite the hiccups from the start,” the African Military 400m champion said.
He will be looking for more of the same in the upcoming legs of the series.
