Former Kenyan pacemaker Martin Keino has made his debut as a commentator at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, marking a historic step for African voices in global sports broadcasting.
Keino was selected as one of only four broadcast trainees in the World Athletics Media Academy, a program designed to prepare young professionals in commentary, print, and photography for future world events.
“I was honoured to be selected as one of four broadcast members who will be taken through commentary preparations for the World Championships. I'm very excited to be here. I've learned a lot through the Media Academy, and today I make the big step of being one of the first African commentators in the World Championships for the world feed,” he said.
Keino covered the women's 1500 metres as well as other finals during the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
He expressed his excitement, saying he has been in the broadcast commentary industry for a while and was a former professional athlete.
Keino’s journey to the booth has deep roots in athletics as he was a professional pacemaker for two decades and played a part in setting seven world records between the 3000 metres and 10,000 metres.
Among the athletes he paced were Daniel Komen, Kenenisa Bekele, and Haile Gebrselassie.
“Not only for Kenya, but for Africa, that we finally get a chance to tell the African story, that we’re able to pronounce African names right, you know, and just give the context because we’ve been very successful at the global level,” he said.
Keino's path to Tokyo began with years of commentary work at the local level in Kenya.
He was later identified and recommended by lead commentator Rob Walker, adding that he saw some promise and enthusiasm in the role.
“My message to upcoming commentators is to prepare very well. You know, the level of preparation that we've had to do here, lots of hours getting ready for this opportunity, speaking to and doing the research. Research is so important,” he said.
Keino said key things as a commentator are understanding the game, understanding the athletes, the event, observing every little detail in how an event unfolds and now telling that story to the world.
“How it should, what is really happening. And just getting the tone right, the enthusiasm right, the excitement. As well as slowing it down so that the viewer can absorb what's really happening on the track.”
He said there is a lot to learn for the upcoming commentators, and anything is possible as long as they put in the work.
