Kenya's 1,500-meter runner Irene Jelagat has joined the rest of the team in training in Nairobi ahead of the Olympic Games after attaining the qualifying time.
The Athletic Kenya (AK) confirmed on Wednesday that Jelagat clocked 4 minutes and 6.10 seconds in the 1,500-meter race in Athens, Greece, on Sunday, while the Olympic Games qualifying mark for the event is 4:07.00.
AK Public Relations Officer Peter Angwenyi said they have appealed to the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) to submit the runner's name to Beijing before the July 23 deadline.
"Jelagat is a consistent runner and AK is optimistic that she will clinch gold in Beijing. Her manager, Jos Hermes called to say Jelagat was doing fine," he said
The Kenyan police athlete clocked 4:12.70 to win the women's 1,500m race during the national Olympics trials late last month in Nairobi, but could not make the team because she had not hit the qualifying time.
Viola Kibiwot (4:13.01) and Nancy Jebet Langat (4:13.09), who finished second and third, were picked as they had already qualified for Beijing.
Jelagat won a gold medal at the 2006 World Junior Championships, with a personal best time of 4:08.88, and finished fifth at the African Championships in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2008)