Cabinet Secretary for sports Amina Mohamed believes the success of the forthcoming Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour will set the pace in the country's ambition to host the 2025 World Athletics Championship.
Amina, who oversaw the official media launch of the Continental Tour yesterday at the Athletics Kenya offices, said the event scheduled for October 3 at the refurbished Nyayo National Stadium will play a major role in convincing the governing body to consider Kenya for the hosting rights of the global event.
Last year, AK declared interest in hosting the bi-annual event which has never been staged in Africa since its inception in 1983.
Amina, who has been partly credited for persuading the global body to hand Kenya the rights to host the tour, reckons that its success will be a stepping stone to bringing the world in Nairobi in five years time.
Kenya successfully held the World U-18 Championships in 2017 and is looking forward to the world U-20 set for July next year.
“I hope a successful management of the event will be a precursor to realising our ambition to host the World Athletics Championships in 2025. We expect more than 150 athletes to compete for honours in the event, the first to be held in the continent,” she said.
With the restrictions imposed by the government to curb the spread of coronavirus still on, Amina revealed that the venue will be filled up-to 20 percent which translates to six thousand fans.
Initially AK wanted half of the venue filled by fans but according to their boss Jackson Tuwei they will only allow the numbers as directed by the ministry.
“The virus is still with us here and we can not risk by having a fully packed stadium. We will only allow 20 percent of the venue to be filled by the fans. We came up with this number following deliberations with the ministry of health,” she added.
Amina paid glowing tribute to legendary Kipchoge, saying his success during his active days has been a source of inspiration to a generation of athletes behind him despite hanging his spikes decades ago.
“The name of this event honours Kenya’s athletic excellence. A country of many firsts in the world of track. Cultured for speed, consistency, endurance and smart tact, Kenya sticks out to the world as an out-lier in the world of mid and long-distance running,” she said.
She added:“Kipchoge, after whom this Nairobi Gold Label Continental Tour is named, is one of our nation’s top sportspersons and the pioneer of Kenya’s unbeaten command in mid and long-distance running,” she said.
She added: “By his leadership, Keino has mentored a generation of the best athletes within and beyond Kenya. This event celebrates his enduring spirit and lifelong contributions to the world of sport in and out of competition.”
Meanwhile, Kipchoge thanked the organisers of the event for their recognition and pleaded with the government to help tap and nurture young talents.
“We have a lot of talents around and the only way to see them transition to professional athletes is through investing in sports infrastructure,” he said.
