Africa-Press – Kenya. The 2024 African decathlon silver medallist, Edwin Too, is eyeing a golden upgrade as he builds momentum towards the African Senior Championships scheduled for next month in Accra, Ghana.
At the 2024 African Games in Accra, Too delivered a landmark performance, racking up a national record 7,140 points to clinch silver behind South Africa’s Fredriech Pretorius, who stormed to gold with 7,550 points.
Algeria’s Dhiae Boudoumi completed the podium, taking bronze with 6,943 points. With the continental championships looming, Too has already thrown down the gauntlet.
At the national trials, he obliterated his own Kenyan record, amassing 7,178 points to book his ticket to Accra, topping the standings ahead of Gilbert Koech (6,468 points) and Edwin Kering (6,251 points).
Too, however, admits the record-breaking effort caught him by surprise. “I did not expect to break the national record, but after the first day of competition, I knew something good would happen,” he said.
After a blistering opening day, where he stacked up an impressive 4,080 points, the signs were already pointing to something special. “I had 4,080 points on the first day, so I knew I would record better points and secure my ticket to Accra,” he added.
With qualification secured, Too now turns his focus to continental gold on familiar turf. “I expect the best in Accra. I will push myself to get better results. Any colour of the medal will be good, but my aim will be gold,” he stated. “Accra is the same place where I won silver in 2024 at the African Games, setting the national record.”
The decathlon, however, remains one of athletics’ most unforgiving tests, a battle of speed, strength, stamina and technical precision across two demanding days. For Too, the challenge lies in mastering the balance. “The first day of the decathlon is always good for me, but day two has some technical events like discus, javelin and pole vault, which you need to have mastered,” he explained.
“I am balancing the two days so that if I get good points on day one, I can push myself for good results on day two.”
He has set himself a clear benchmark, one that signals entry into elite territory. “If I can get 4,000 points on day one and push myself to get 4,000 on day two, then I will have 8,000 points, which is very good,” he noted. To bridge that gap, Too is sharpening the finer details in training, with a particular focus on improving his output in the throwing disciplines. “In training I will be focusing on the field events, mostly discus and shot put,” he said.
“My best events are the sprints, 100m, 400m and the 110m hurdles. In field events I like the jumps. My only weakness is the throws,” he admitted. Beyond Accra, the Kenyan all-rounder is also keeping one eye on the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, as he looks to translate his upward trajectory onto the global stage. “Commonwealth is also on my mind, so I am hoping for a big improvement so that I may also get the points for the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
