Kageha grateful to grandmother for success in discus throw

Africa Under 18 400m silver medalist Linda Kageha is thankful for the role her grandmother played in her transition into discus. 

Kageha, who will be representing Kenya in the discus at the August 17-22 World Under 20 Championships, said her grandmother, Kerina Mudhilwa, was the first to notice her talent in discus and encouraged her to pick up the sport. 

"The talent in discus runs in my family. My grandmother was a former discus athlete and one day she happened to find me and other athletes trying out the sport. She encouraged me to continue playing the sport because I have the physique to succeed in it," Kageha said. 

She added that her grandmother has been her training partner ever since and has helped her grow in leaps and bounds despite the lack of modern equipment. 

"Sometimes, we would just train using stones because we didn't have the right equipment. However, she would put me through the techniques for discus and this helped me grow my natural talent as a discus thrower. It is in my blood," the former footballer said. 

The 19-year old is also expected to compete in the 4x400m relay during the biennial championships at Moi Stadium, Kasarani. 

The former student at Bitagwa High School in Kisii county, admitted she was unsure about venturing into the sprints but is grateful to Peter Nzofu, her school coach, who walked with her throughout the transition from football. 

"I was hesitant at first but he encouraged me although I did not know where I would fit so when we started competition at the county level, I competed in the 200m, 400m and 800m and won all of them. That motivated me to continue competing and booked a ticket for the next rounds until I was able to compete at the East Africa School Games. That's where my love for athletics started," she said. 

Joseph Illovi, assistant Team Manager for Team Kenya, praised Kageha's improvement in the discus throw and tipped her for a brighter future when she eventually graduates to the senior ranks. 

"She has improved drastically. During the national trials, she made a throw of 37.34m and could not do any turns but now she can. So far, she has made a throw of 46m and I believe this will increase to 50m by the time of the championship," Illovi said. 

He said the youngster is currently doing a lot of gym work to improve on her physical strength, having had no access to such facilities before.