Go for gold but be financially and media savvy, athletes told
Two-time Olympic Marathon Champion Eliud Kipchoge, Faith Kipyegon, the 1,500m World Record Holder, and two-time Olympic 1,500m Champion, Brenda Chesingei (left), Safaricom’s Territory Business Lead for Eldoret region, and other Olympians, during Team Kenya Financial Literacy and Media Training held at EKA Hotel in Eldoret town, ahead of the Olympics on July 12, 2024.
Athletes and coaches heading to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games must be busy revising their training notes, working on their tactics, nutrition and all other things geared towards getting them to optimal levels on D-Day.
Even so, athletes bound for Paris took time out on Friday to attend a Team Kenya Financial Literacy and Media Training session in Eldoret.
The training, attended by 30 athletes, was organised by Kenya’s giant telco Safaricom.
The Olympic glory-chasing athletes were taken through financial management skills including budgeting, saving, investing and understanding financial products and financial services that will help them secure their future.
The media training covered building brands as sportsmen and women
“We believe in the power of sports to inspire and unite communities and our goal is to support our athletes not just in track and field but also in their personal lives,” said Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said in a statement.
“Journalists are key people in athlete’s branding and as sports men and women you need to always give them a chance and be ready for interviews so that they can be able to market you. As athletes you also need to think out of the box and make sure you build your brand while still active in the sport,” former Nation Lead Editor – Sports and Integration Projects Elias Makori said at the session.
Two-time Olympics 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon appreciated the need to put something aside for investment, something she has personally started doing.
“An athlete’s career is very short and the lessons we got during the training sessions have also opened my eyes to the need to save the little I get for the future,” said Kipyegon who was also unveiled as a brand ambassador for Safaricom.
Said Faith Cherotich, who is online for her first Olympic outing: “We are privileged to have been trained on various issues on investment and how to relate to the media because they are the people who market us as athletes.”
National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) Secretary General Francis Mutuku said that there was a need to train athletes and bring them up to speed on the need to invest and market themselves.
“We are at the critical time where we are almost closing the camp and we have to make sure the athletes are well taken care of and we shall be having the last group travelling close to the Olympics” said Mutuku.
He said Team Kenya will continue to travel in batches to France.
Already, Kenya Sevens, Malkia Strikers, athletics sprinters including Kenya’s men’s 100m podium hopeful Ferdinand Omanyala and swimmer Maria Brunlehner.
