Wisley Rotich and Jackson Tuwei lead the unveiling of the World Athletics Heritage Plaque in Iten
Perched on a lofty location, some 2400 metres above sea level, in an arboretum overlooking the famous Kerio Valley, the World Athletics Heritage Plague awarded to Kenya’s Iten Town on 19 May 2019 finally found its permanent home on Tuesday (11 February).
The Elgeyo Marakwet County Government, whose headquarters is in Iten Town, unveiled the plaque at its scenic new location with Governor Wisley Rotich leading the ceremony together with Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei, Olympic legend and Kenya’s Olympic Committee President Paul Tergat among other legends.
“The unveiling of the World Athletics Heritage plaque affirms Iten as one of the best destinations for athletes to train,” the Governor said at the colourful Tuesday ceremony.
“Elgeyo Marakwet County is without an iota of doubt an athletics powerhouse, producing world beaters in both track and road races. Professional athletes from across the world throng Iten town each year to train with athletics crème de la crème in the high-altitude area.”
The World Athletics Heritage Plaque is awarded for an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out-of-stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking.
Iten, which is dubbed the ‘Home of Champions’, was awarded the World Athletics Heritage Plaque in 2019 in the category of ‘Landmark’.
“In 2018, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe introduced the World Athletics Plaque award which is based upon an outstanding contribution to the history and development of athletics. In 2019 we were delighted to receive a letter from World Athletics announcing that Iten would be honoured,” said Tuwei, who is a Vice-President of World Athletics.
“It was an incredible milestone for Iten, and I personally called former Governor Tolgos to congratulate him on this historic achievement.”
At Tuesday’s ceremony, Tergat, twice Olympic 10,000m silver medallist and former world marathon record holder, celebrated Iten for its massive contribution to the development of sport and urged athletes to join in the fight against doping in sport.
“Iten is now known worldwide for its contribution to athletics,” said Tergat. “The doping menace and the infiltration of quacks posing as coaches are serious threats to the integrity of our sport. We must take decisive steps to remove these harmful influences.”
Global champions Ezekiel Kemboi, Moses Kiptanui, Mary Keitany and Irene Cheptai were among the VIP guests in attendance at the initial ceremony in 2019.
Also present were the then Governor Alex Tolgos, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Sport at the time, Amina Mohamed, and Athletics Kenya’s leadership, led by President Tuwei.
The British High Commissioner to Kenya at the time, Jane Marriott, and Brother Colm O’Connell, winner of the 2019 World Athletics Coaching Achievement Award, were also present.
Currently, several world beaters have pitched early season camp in Iten for distance running training, among them the Dutch pair of Olympic marathon champion Sifan Hassan and New York Marathon champion Abdi Nageeye. Hassan is heading to April’s London Marathon while Nageeye is yet to announce his spring plans.
Kenya-born Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat, a multiple world cross country and half marathon champion, alongside 2007 world 800m champion Janeth Jepkosgei were also in attendance in the latest unveiling of the Iten Plaque on Tuesday.
Kiplagat’s High Altitude Training Centre in Iten was also host to Tuesday’s preliminary track and field trials for the Refugee Olympic Team organised under the Refugee Athlete Support Programme (2025-2028). The initiative aims to identify and support talented refugee athletes on their journey to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Elias Makori for World Athletics Heritage