Jesire and Chepkemoi both achieved the national high jump record in a thrilling competition. Jesire, who had recently won the KDF title, cleared a height of 1.70m, which was matched by Chepkemoi.

Jesire, hailing from Baringo County and accustomed to jumping deep gullies and valleys while herding her father's animals, then successfully cleared 1.75m on her first attempt, while Chepkemoi needed two tries to accomplish the same height.

In the end, Jesire emerged as the winner on count-back after both athletes failed to clear 1.80m. This achievement was significant for Jesire, as she had previously claimed her first KDF title with a personal best of 1.65m on May 24 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.

Her goal for the year was to surpass the 1.80m mark and earn a chance to compete at prestigious events like the world championships.

In other events at the National Athletics Championships held at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi, top athletes such as Ferdinand Omanyala, Mary Moraa, Beatrice Chepkoech, and Daniel Simiu comfortably advanced to the next round of their races.

Omanyala, representing Kenya Police and known as the fastest man in Africa, easily won his heat with a time of 10.08 seconds (+0.2 wind speed) and secured a spot in the semifinals scheduled for Friday.

Omanyala, the Commonwealth Games and Africa 100m champion, expressed that this performance was just part of his preparation for the World Championships and not something extraordinary.

He aimed to further improve his time in the semifinals and also had his sights set on anchoring the Kenya 1 team to victory in the 4x100m relay at Nyayo.

Unfortunately, the men's 4x100m and 4x400m world championships qualifying races were not held due to the rescheduled arrival of the South Sudan and Botswana teams, which affected the scheduling.

Other athletes who won their heats and advanced to the semifinals included Hesbon Ochieng from Prisons (10.47s), Meshack Babu from Kenya Defence Forces (10.40s), Mark Kangéthe from universities (10.73s), Henricho Bruintjies from South Africa (10.55s), Sharry Dodin from Seychelles (10.74s), and Dan Kiviasi from Prisons (10.86s).