Kenya’s preparations for this year’s World Under-20 Championships set for Nairobi are in top gear, Athletics Kenya (AK) president Jackson Tuwei has revealed.
In an interview with Nation Sport,Tuwei said that the federation has already set up 14 camps across the country to nurture talent ahead of the global tourney to be held at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani from July 7 to 12.
“We are confident that the team that will be selected for the games will retain the title and that is why we are working hard now to have the best athletes identified across the country,” said the AK boss.
Tuwei said that a team from the federation has been going round the country to visit the camps and identify the support team and athletes.
“The camps across the country will help us identify and recruit a team that will represent Kenya in the games. We have a tough challenge because we are the defending champions and there is need for early preparations and the youth development project under the leadership of Barnabas Korir will deliver good results,” Tuwei added.
He also said that the team will be touring the schools where the athletes are training and monitor how they are preparing before they converge on their respective camps in April.
“This is the best opportunity to identify new talents who will be nurtured for the next generation. We shall be visiting them in schools and see where they are training on a personal level,” said Tuwei.
Tuwei also said that the camps are strictly in schools so that they can be taken care of by Athletics Kenya.
He also said that the Local Organizing Committee is working round the clock to deliver a world class event.
“I want to also congratulate the Ministry of Sports for naming the LOC team early and I know they are going on well with the preparations after the budget was allocated to them by the government. Some of those in the committee have had a chance to visit various athletics events to see how the championships are organised which is a good thing,” he said.
Kenya will be seeking to retain the overall title after bagging a total of 11 medals (six gold, four silver and one bronze) in the 2018 edition in Tampere, Finland.
Brazil came in second with 12 medals, while United States of America settled for third position with 28 medals
Since the inception of the games in 1986, Kenya has so far won a total of 186 medals (78 gold, 66 silver and 42 bronze).
Tuwei also termed 2018 a successful for Kenya with two more records been broken by its athletes.
“Apart from the few elements who are spoiling the sport in terms of doping, Kenya showed that it’s the best worldwide in athletics. All the marathon records are now in Kenya after Brigid Kosgei broke the women’s record in Chicago Marathon last year.
Geoffrey Kamworor also broke the World Half Marathon record in Copenhagen clocking 58:01 and this is something we are happy and proud of,” added Tuwei.
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