Kenya's athletics officials said Tuesday they are focusing on next year's Beijing's Olympic Games after a sterling performance in the just concluded 11th World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan.

 

Athletics Kenya (AK) secretary general David Okeyo said red carpet will be laid out to the team which emerged second ahead of over 40 other countries in Osaka.

 

"Our team which had one of the youngest runners in the championships have done us proud and the focus is now on next year's Olympic Games in Beijing," Okeyo told Xinhua by telephone on Tuesday.

 

He also announced that only 16 out of the 37 athletes in the squad are expected to arrive in Nairobi late Tuesday from Japan, adding that the rest of the group had flown to Europe for next week's Grand Prix meets.

 

"I have been informed to expect about 15 or 16 athletes since others have races in Europe next week and have gone there to prepare," Okeyo said.

 

Many analysts had predicted that Kenya's team would not perform well in Osaka but the runners in the squad produced a perfect return back by recording the country's best ever performance in the competition.

 

During the championships which ended on Sunday, the east African nation managed 13 medals, including five gold, three silver and five bronze, only next to the United States which took home 26 medals.

 

"Most of the athletes in the Osaka team are young and they are the same ones we will rely on for medals in Beijing with a few additions. We will not rest simply because we did well in Osaka," Okeyo said.

 

The east African nation produced the best performance than the previous championships where they got four gold, three silver and a single bronze medals in Tokyo in 1991.

 

Two years ago in Helsinki, Kenya blew cold again with just one gold medal, two silver and four bronze.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2007)