Athletics Kenya (AK) Central Kenya branch are hopeful the ongoing World Under 20 training camp will help rekindle the dwindling standards of the sport in the region.
The ongoing camp at the Ngooru Secondary School, has 50 athletes—25 boys and an equal number of girls, drawn from Nyeri, Nyahururu, Nyandarua, Kiambu and Kirinyaga Counties.
Camp co-ordinator, Francis Kamau, the AK Central deputy chairman, said the athletes have shown remarkable progress since they reported in camp on December 1, following the November 23 regional trials.
During a training session at the Ihururu Stadium, Kamau observed that the athletes have exhibited a sense of self-drive, which has made them start thinking of life after the World Under-20 Championships, which some of the athletes will not be a part of. “We hope to keep this camp alive even after next year’s championships,” said Kamau.
“We believe this could be the best restart for athletics activities in this region and we are going to talk to AK and the Nyeri County Government on how best we can go about it. We will approach Governor Kahiga Mutahi and see how he can help us improve this track,” added Kamau, pointing to the grassy track.
“If we can have it weeded out and levelled in quarry dust, then we will be good to go.”
The athletes—some as young as 14 years—are drawn from almost all the major track and field events including jumps (high, long, triple and pole vault); Throws (shot put, hammer, javelin); sprints (100m,100m/h, 110m/h, 200, 400m/h and 400m) and middle distances, (800m, 1500m, 3000m, 2000m steeplechase) and distance running (5000m).
“One of our biggest challenges is training in combined events (heptathlon and decathlon) which have been scrapped off the school competitions as well as field and hurdles, due to lack of equipment,” chipped in head coach Gikonyo Kariuki, the Ngooru Secondary School principal.
However, Gikonyo observed that this will not break the spirit on the young prospects as they seek to represent Kenya at a major home championship.
“The level of talent we have in this camp is amazing,” said Gikonyo. “All the athletes have competed at the national secondary school games while some were at the 2017 World Under-18 trials and, therefore, know what they want to achieve. We see them as the future of athletics not only for this region but the country in general.”
Captains Johnson Mugeni and Lucy Kyalo observed that all is well at the camp and everybody is working towards a common goal of making Team Kenya.
“The training has been good here although the first few days were tough,” said Mugeni. His sentiments were echoed by Caroline Wanjiku, who missed out on the 2017 World U-18 Championships after finishing fourth in the 5,000m race during the trials.
“We are now good to go even if the trials are held tomorrow. We will not chicken out,” said Wanjiku. “This is my time to put on the national team colours after the disappointment of 2017.”
AK Youth Development Programme chairman Barnaba Korir said Kamau’s observations are in line with the federation’s quest to keep the development centres active beyond 2020.
“We have 14 youth camps across the country, which we erected with the help of the government as we seek to select the best for the U20 championships,” said Korir.
“We intend to use these centres, beyond the 2020 championships, to nurture our future champions. These are the runners who will represent Kenya in future events including the 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 World Championships, which we hope to stage in Nairobi.”
