Uganda’s 800m Olympian Mutenkanga to highlight Boyce &Jefford Classic VIII

Jul 30, 2017 Sports

The International Men’s 800m at the upcoming Boyce and
Jefford Track and Field Classic VIII in Linden at the MSC Ground on August 12-13 has gotten very interesting with the inclusion of one of Uganda’s top middle distance athletes, Julius Mutenkanga.
United States of America–based Guyanese athlete, Kevin Bayley is the defending champion in the event, but will be definitely pressed to produce his best with the inclusion of Mutenkanga, who represented the African country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Bayley will be back to attempt a title defence as well as Trinidad and Tobago’s Ashton Gill, who was second to Bayley last year. Put Mutenkanga in the midst and the race promises to be one of the highlights of the 2017 Championships in Linden.
Mutenkanga is a sub-1:50.00 800m athlete and just last year he broke Uganda’s national 600m record. His personal best time is 1:46.30, which he ran to qualify for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in 2011 in Daegu.
Ironically, 2011 is the year that Dennis Horatio established the Boyce and Jefford 800m record with 1:55.90. With such an international field in the race this year along with the quality of local athletes, that record seems to be under serious threat.
Apart from the World Championships and Olympic Games, Mutenkanga also ran at the World Indoor Championships. The 29-year-old competes for the Central Park Track Club in the United States, which is sponsored by New Balance, as an elite athlete.
However, the Guyanese would be eager to ensure that the prize money up for grabs in the race stays at home. As such, Guyana Defence Force standout, Anfernee Headecker along with Police’s Quacy Morian and Samuel Lynch cannot be ruled out of the top three finishers.
The race is also likely to include Desmond Amsterdam and Daniel Melville. The winner of the race pockets $US250, while second and third place gets US$150 and US$100 respectively.
The male 800m event is one of six international events scheduled for the meet.

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