Yego predicts Kenyan 800m sweep

Former world 800m champion Alfred Kirwa Yego yesterday predicted the Kenyans would dominate the men’s 800 metres at this month’s World athletics championships in Daegu, South Korea. The 24-year-old Yego, who won a silver medal behind South Africa’s Mbulaeni Mulaudzi at the last championships in Berlin, will line-up alongside world record holder David Rudisha and Jackson Kivuva, the 2006 world junior 800m silver medallist, in the race. And he is confident the Kenyan three-pronged assault will be unbeatable. “I believe the team is very strong. If we stay focused together and go to Korea with one mind, I don’t see anything to stop us. We feel very proud to have a world record holder amongst us,” said Yego. One of Kenya’s most consistent athletes, Yego, who also won an 800m bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, will be competing in his fourth world championships in Daegu. Kenya will also field four gold medal winners from Berlin, along with three silver medallists including Yego and one bronze medallist in Daegu. The world championships will run from August 27 to September 4. Four gold chances for Great Britain London: UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee will look to a quartet of title contenders to lead the Great Britain medal charge at the World Championships in Daegu later this month as they aim to eclipse the six they won in Berlin two years ago. The Dutchman has named world and European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis, Phillips Idowu, who holds both titles in the triple jump, European 5,000 and 10,000 metres champion Mo Farah and Dai Greene, the European and Commonwealth 400m hurdles champion, in his 67-strong team for the event in South Korea. But four of last year’s European silver medallists missed out on individual selection, with no places for Michael Bingham, Chris Thompson or Rhys Williams, while Mark Lewis-Francis had to settle for a spot in the 4x100m relay team. Van Commenee said: “This team has been selected to give us the best possible results in Daegu. I’m looking to see an improvement from two years ago in Berlin, where we recorded six medals and 20 top-eight finishes.