U20 KITS
The World Under-20 kit for Team Kenya has been issued to participants ahead of the biennial Championships, which begin on August 17 at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani. Barnaba Korir, chairman of Athletics Kenya's (AK) Youth Development Committee, presided over the kit distribution in an exercise held at the Sports View Hotel, team Kenya's pre-championships bubble camp, on Sunday.
Korir urged the athletes to enjoy the Championships without putting themselves under undue stress. "I want to encourage the athletes and teams to approach the Games as part of their development process, not as a matter of life and death," he told the youngsters.
Korir cautioned juniors to be cautious after the just finished Tokyo Olympic Games, where Team Kenya competitors were subjected to undue pressure, particularly from too enthusiastic spectators. "Sports are a tool for education; the winning and losing outcomes are entirely secondary to the imparting of important life lessons."
We are hosting the Championships so that they can teach you how to deal with adversity and failure, mastering fear and hurdles, and learning to believe in yourself," Korir, who is also a member of the World Under 20 Championships' Local Organising Committee, said the competitors.
Korir was joined by Dr. David Karuri, the junior Championships' Deputy Director of Medical, who challenged the competitors not to let their guard down as they enter the penultimate week before the competition. The key, he stressed, is to keep the athletes free of Covid-19 at all times.
"Our primary responsibility is to ensure that strict covid safety rules are in place prior to, during, and after the championship," Karuri explained. "We will limit what competitors, officials, and other essential persons can do and where they can go, and athletes and others will be tested daily or every 48 hours."
Before traveling to the Ole Sereni Hotel, the official team Kenya hotel for the competition, all 45 Team Kenya athletes will be subjected to a final covid-19 test, according to Karuri. "On the 12th of August, we will do the critical tests, and only covid negative athletes will be allowed to attend camp," he said.
Elizabeth Keitany, Team Kenya's General Team Manager, praised Athletics Kenya for ensuring that the athletes who had been in camp for three weeks were adequately cared for. "The athletes are excited since they will be representing Kenya for the first time," Keitany added.
"I can certify that all athletes and officials have gotten all of the goods they require ahead of the games, which are set to begin on August 17." In the men's 1,500m race, Emmanuel Lemama, who finished second in the Kenyan trials last month, has been replaced by Kamar Etiang. "After Lemama suffered an injury, we reviewed the situation and decided to replace him with Etiang, who was unfortunate enough not to represent Kenya in the Tokyo Games," Korir added.