Complete Sports Training Centre: The future of Kenyan athletics?

Kaptagat, which is shared between Elgeyo Marakwet and Uasin Gishu counties, has produced some of the world beaters in athletics.

Various camps have mushroomed in the region over the years but there is a new kid on the block, Complete Sports Athletics Training Centre, which hosts a number of upcoming and professional athletes.

Kaptagat also hosts Rosa Associati, Global Sports Communication, 141 Management camps.

One of the objectives is ensuring young athletes from poor backgrounds fulfill their dreams by joining institutions in the United States of America to study through scholarships and participate in various competitions at the same time.

The training camp is a dream child of former 800m Commonwealth Games champion Japheth Kimutai, who wanted to give a chance upcoming talents from poor backgrounds to study and fuilfill their dreams of being global track and field stars.

The camp consists of two hostels for men and women with a bed capacity of 60 athletes in each.

There is also a multi-purpose hall which is 70 percent complete and this will consist a conference hall, dining hall, gym, canteen and guest rooms.

The guest rooms will be targeting athletes from abroad and other parts of the country who would like to sample the Kaptagat weather as they prepare for various international races.

The camp, which sits on a five-acre parcel of land and three kilometres off the Eldoret-Eldama Ravine road has a borehole which supplies water and is fully powered by solar.

Bishop Luka Maiyo is the chairman assisted by Joseph Boit who is also the Athletics Kenya Uasin Gishu chairman. Kimutai is the treasurer while Reverend William Kosgei is the secretary.

Elijah Samoei and Gilbert Chebet are coaches while Salina Tum is the Chaperon who takes care of the girls' needs with five other subordinate staff.

The camp also boasts of having assisted 279 students’ athletes who joined various universities in USA but the highlight of their success is the 800m Olympics and World Champion Emmanuel Korir who started his career in Kaptagat.

Another product from the camp is Eliud Kipsang who is currently in Alabama University and pursuing degree in nursing. Kipsang shattered the 1500 metres collegiate record after timing 3:33.74 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April.

In 1997, the now retired Kimutai competed in the Zurich Grand Prix while still at St. Patrick’s High School in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet, a race that changed his life. He was in Form Four at the time.

Kimutai was invited to compete in the prestigious race and was placed in team B where he emerged third - a display that saw him sign a lucrative deal with Puma.

Kimutai received several scholarships from various universities in the USA but turned down the offer because he wanted to be a professional athlete.

He says that h now wants to give the chance he declined to many students to study abroad.

“We decided to start a project that will help the youth because we discovered there is a lot of talent but they lack support. We want to give them a chance to compete and at the same time pursue further education on scholarships because they come from poor background,” said Kimutai.

Complete Sports Athletics was born in 2012 in partnership with Reinhard Leuling from Germany with Burg Wachter acting as coordinator between the two and the long journey has culminated into one of the best modern camps in the country.

Isaac Kipng’etich, who joined the camp in 2019, has been training with an aim of joining university. He says his focus is on education and a professional career in athletics.

“We are balancing here between training and education because my aim is to register good times in my specialty of 3,000m and 5,000m races. I also want to get a good school so that I can be able to further my education abroad,” said Kipng’etich.

Kevin Kimutai, who competes in 800m, believes he is a better athlete after joining the camp from Cheptais in Mt. Elgon, Bungoma County earlier on this year.

“I joined the camp recently and I want to be a professional athlete. There is big difference in terms of training. We have been running with our coaches something I have not seen before which is really encouraging because they are able to monitor each athlete and identify who has a problem,” said Kimutai.