The Sh80 million Eliud Kipchoge Athletics Training Complex in honour of the world marathon record holder in Kapsabet is almost complete.
The centre, which will also act as a Hall of Fame for the stars from the region, is courtesy of Nandi County Government.
According to county sports chief executive officer, Kennedy Tanui, Phase One is at 90 per cent complete at the cost of Sh30 million.
In phase one, the state of the art complex has a modern gym facility, a conference hall, offices, track and an athletes’ lounge. Phase Two will feature a physiotherapy room, 200-bed capacity hostel facility, a second conference hall and a restaurant among others.
The facility will also have a swimming pool, an art studio and gallery that will be named after prominent heroes and heroines in the sports sector as Hall of Fame.
“We started building this facility last September after Kipchoge broke the marathon record in Berlin. The training centre will cater for the many budding athletes within and outside the county,” said Tanui, who also serves as Athletics Kenya Central Rift secretary. The facility is next to the abandoned Kip-Keino Stadium under the national government.
“Once Phase One is complete, Phase Two will commence immediately. Bids are currently under evaluation and will be opened and closed within this week,” he added.
Tanui said that they expect both phases to be complete in December. Tanui said as a county, they want to nurture talent in the region and hope to use the new facility for trials for the next World Championships as well as international assignments. “We will identify scouts, who will pick young athletes across the county to train here,” he noted. He said besides the sports complex, they are also revamping the existing sports grounds in the county.
