With the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc to the athletes’ preparations, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) is set to present their concerns to the International Olympics Committee over the same.
Athletes angling at making the cut to the Kenyan team have a reason to worry as the government’s directive to suspend all sporting activities and the subsequent closure of facilities and camps has denied them the platform to prepare for various qualifiers.
To accommodate the views of the affected athletes from all disciplines, Nock has written to the affiliates to present their concerns and proposals.
“IOC has invited presentations from NOCs of the World on matter of Olympics and especially the Qualifiers which are now on hold. We will duly present our views under the circumstances. This will include the collective feeling from all our federations, who we have requested to immediately send us their concerns and proposals,” read a statement signed by the Nock Secretary-General, Francis Mutuku
“The life and welfare of our Athletes are of utmost concern and our top priority right now. As uncertainty continues to hang over the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, we at the National Olympic Committee of Kenya are following all the developments closely," he added.
“We are constantly receiving updates from IOC who are still assessing the situation not only in Japan but the world over. We acknowledge the fact that our athletes are not able to focus fully on their training and their schedules are grossly impacted,” he added.
In the meantime, Nock has lauded athletes who have heeded to the call of self-quarantine after returning from international assignments. Last week, the government, through the Ministry of Health, ordered sportsmen who had jetted back after the first case of the virus was reported in the country, to embrace self-isolation.
“We thank the athletes who have supported our campaign to sensitise the public through individual responsibility and influence of their local environments by taking leadership in this matter following the government’s directive.
"We are delighted to note that sports leaders and administrators have continued to heed to the government’s directives especially on 14-day quarantine for all persons who have travelled outside the country and cancellation of sporting events,” said the statement.
