Confusion in Team Kenya as Mureta sent home from UK

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Anderson Mureta 

By AYUMBA AYODI
Posted  Thursday, July 12  2012 at  23:23

There was confusion on Thursday night regarding Anderson Mureta ahead of the London Olympics as Athletics Kenya disowned the spinter as part of the 4x400 metres relay team.

Mureta’s fate has been somewhat confusing. He was selected, dropped, then picked again when the national team arrived from the Africa Championships in Porto Novo, Benin.

Reinstated alongside Mark Mutai, Mureta had been training with the rest of the 400m sprinters in Bristol, England. But last night, AK chairman Isaiah Kiplagat and team manager Joseph Kinyua did a U-turn, saying he was not selected in the final 4x400m team.

“Mureta was dropped from the team after the Benin event and has not been in our plans. Someone else perhaps knows how he made his way to Bristol,” said Kinyua.

The AK official said they had selected a final team comprising World 800m champion and record holder David Rudisha, Alfas Kishoyan, Boniface Mweresa, Vincent Mumo, Boniface Mucheru and Mark Mutai for the Games.

Complicated case

AK had named Mumo, Mutai, Mureta, Rudisha and 400m hurdler Vincent Koskei during the national trails held between June 21-23 in Nairobi.

Contacted, Team Kenya’s chief executive officer, Stephen Soi, claimed that with every member of the team having a non-validated pass, Mureta may have “sneaked” into the London camp.

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“Mureta’s has been a complicated case with so many issues arising,” Soi said by telephone from London on Thursday evening.

He added that Mureta failed to travel with the rest of the team on July 3 over “some technicalities”, with his flight being rescheduled for the following day.

“Once again he appeared at the airport without his passport. I was to meet him in person but he disappeared,” said Soi.

But when asked why Mureta  was allowed to join the team in Bristol when AK had not named him in the final 4x400m team, Soi said: “While some people at AK didn’t want him to travel, he provided for his own ticket to London and I am told he has been sent back home.”