Eldoret, Kenya – Alfred Kirwa Yego, 21, the World 800m champion who was crowned in Osaka on 2 September, will contest another final tomorrow...it’s hard to predict if this will be more or less as difficult a challenge as the one negotiated on the Nagai Stadium track! Tomorrow, Alfred will marry in Eldoret, in the heart of the enchanted Rift Valley, Irine Tirop, who is like him from the Nandi Tribe.

It seems as if there has been a constant peel of wedding bells throughout the athletics world this autumn with World champions Veronica Campbell, Kenenisa Bekele and now Yego each getting married.

Huge celebrations are planned to honour the young Alfred and Irine, with the participation of former and present day champions of the track. These athletes have created a wedding preparation committee and have worked very hard in the course of the last two months, scheduling weekly meetings held in the offices of the “Grandpri” hotel-restaurant which owned by Moses Tanui, the 1991 World 10,000m champion in Tokyo 1991.

The Chairman of the organising committee is Japhet Kimutai (1:42.69 for 800m), and his wife Naomi, acting as secretary. They are helped by star names, Augustine Choge, Benjamin Kimutai Koskei, Ezekiel Kemboi, Lucas Sang, Isaac Songok, Patrick Sang, Benjamin Limo and many others who have given ideas and support during the meetings.

Meetings in which everything was checked: from the cars for the guests, to the tents that will host the ceremony, from the flower arrangements to the food, from the pictures to the wedding’s video….until the tiniest details.

All this preparation has been done with the same attention and commitment as would be given to a major race!

Ottavio Castellini for the IAAF