Hope for local sprinters as team bags three medals
From left: Mark Otieno, Elijah Onkware, Mike Mokamba and Hesborn Ochieng celebrate after winning silver medal in the 4x200m men's relay during the World Athletics Relays Championship in Silesia, Poland on May 2, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Rose Wachuka, who is the Director of Coordination and Liaison at the Sports ministry, told Nation Sport here that the team has seamlessly, with mechanisms of assessing progress ahead of the games in Nairobi.
- “The Organising Committee has excellent chemistry which is crucial for the success of the event. We have created a system of collaborative tools which we keep monitoring from time to time. Our goal is to deliver a flawless championship,” said Wachuka.
- Her assistants are Bernice Macharia and Caesar Handa.
In Silesia, Poland
The curtain came down on the two-day World Athletics Relay Championships at the weekend in Silesia, Poland, with teams registering mixed results.
Kenya bagged three medals, an improvement on the 2019 edition in Yokohama, Japan where the country only claimed a bronze medal in 4x400 metres mixed relay.
Kenya claimed her first silver medal in 2x2x400 metres mixed relay ran by Ferguson Rotich and Naomi Jerop Korir at Silesia Stadium on Saturday which was the first day of the championship.
The other silver came in men’s 4x200m where Kenya was represented by Mark Otieno, Elijah Onkware, Mike Mokamba and Hesbron Ochieng.
Kenya also claimed bronze medal in shuttle hurdles mixed relays through Priscilla Tabunda, Michael Musyoka, Rukia Nusra and Wiseman Were.
Focus now shifts to the World Under-20 Championships to be held in Nairobi, with the World Athletics officials expected in Nairobi at a later date to assess Kenya’s preparedness ahead of the games to be held on August 17-22.
Despite the global coronavirus pandemic, the Government has facilitated the safe resumption of sports by providing financial, technical and medical support to teams preparing for international championships.
On September 26 last year, Kenya hosted the largest post-pandemic World Athletics event - the Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour - under strict protocols.
This was followed this year by the Kenya Open Golf Championship, the Savannah Classic Golf Championship and the African Rally Championship Equator Rally.
The events tested Kenya’s capacity to host international competitions in the era of Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Organising Committee of the World Under-20 Athletics Championship has worked seamlessly with World Athletics and created a comprehensive event execution roadmap to guarantee quality, safety and sustainability of the event,”
Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said of the event. “I have continually supervised the preparations and provided guidance on core issues and we are prepared to show that despite the challenges visited upon the world by the coronavirus pandemic, we can still grow and nurture sport under safe conditions,” Amina added.
Rose Wachuka, who is the Director of Coordination and Liaison at the Sports ministry, told Nation Sport here that the team has seamlessly, with mechanisms of assessing progress ahead of the games in Nairobi.
“The Organising Committee has excellent chemistry which is crucial for the success of the event. We have created a system of collaborative tools which we keep monitoring from time to time. Our goal is to deliver a flawless championship,” said Wachuka.
Her assistants are Bernice Macharia and Caesar Handa.
