Kenya’s national 60 metres record holder Ferdinand Omanyala will be a notable absentee after Athletics Kenya named a six-member team for the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships scheduled for March 20-22 in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland.

Despite being the country’s leading short sprinter, Omanyala failed to secure a slot in the squad following a series of underwhelming performances during the European indoor circuit earlier this year.

The Commonwealth Games 100m champion competed in meetings in Paris and Miramas in France as well as Moscow, Russia between January 25 and February 7, but did not register the qualifying form needed to convince selectors.

Omanyala had been targeting a return to the global indoor stage after narrowly missing the podium at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, where he finished fourth in the 60m final. His absence leaves Kenya without a representative in the short sprint at the upcoming championships.

Instead, the national federation has opted for a compact squad built around middle-distance strength and emerging quarter-mile talent.

Olympians Mercy Adongo Oketch and Susan Ejore headline the team and are widely viewed as Kenya’s strongest medal prospects. Oketch, the national 400m record holder, will compete in the women’s one-lap race, where her recent performances have placed her among the athletes to watch. Ejore will line up in the women’s 1500m, an event in which she has steadily established herself on the international stage.

The men’s team includes Brian Tinega in the 400m, Noah Kibet in the 800m and Jacob Krop in the 3000m. Krop, a World Championship medallist outdoors, is expected to provide Kenya with a strong presence in the long-distance event. Kibet is the 2022 world indoor 800m silver medalist.

Rosemary Longisa completes the squad and will compete in the women’s 800m.

The six-athlete delegation marks a smaller contingent compared to the previous edition of the championships. Kenya fielded nine athletes at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.

Kenya will also be seeking to end a medal drought at the indoor showpiece. The country’s most recent podium finish came through Beatrice Chepkoech, who won bronze in the women’s 3000m at the edition of the championships.

With a lean squad, but proven middle-distance pedigree, Kenya will be hoping its selected athletes can challenge for honours when the global indoor competition gets underway in Poland later this month.