• "During the school holidays, we will send the athletes to go back to Miramas, France. We are also reaching out to the US to accommodate the athletes for specialised training,” Korir said.
• Team Kenya won 10 medals in Cali and Korir observed this was still a commendable effort even though they surrendered the title to the US.
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Athletics Kenya Youth Development chairman Barnaba Korir says they are now focusing on the 2024 Paris olympics after an indifferent World Under 20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.
Kenya went to Cali as the defending champions, having won the Tampere 2018 and Nairobi 2021 events, but could only master a fourth-place finish.
Speaking upon return, Korir said they identified some areas on which they need to work as they plan for the Paris Games.
Top of the agenda is to partnerships for training camps in France and the United States of America.
“We are not wasting any time as we shift our focus to the 2024 Paris Olympics. During the school holidays, we will send the athletes to go back to Miramas, France. We are also reaching out to the US to accommodate the athletes for specialised training,” Korir said.
He also revealed that the federation will now pay attention to sprints and field events.
“The juniors are capable of doing more. We had Winnie Chepngétich compete in a filed event and Damaris Mutunga also did well in the 400m race. We just need to get the appropriate equipment for them and we will be set,” he said.
Some of the athletes had complained of inadequate facilities in their camps and Korir said the federation is sourcing for funds to revamp the camps.
“We are in the process of getting funds and we shall renovate the camps in due time,” he said.
Team Kenya won 10 medals in Cali and Korir observed this was still a commendable effort even though they surrendered the title to the US.
“The team posted exemplary results. They are a young team and still a work in progress,” he said, adding that it takes time to train an athlete.
He observed that the young team has a great future just like Commonwealth 800m champion and world bronze medalist Mary Moraa and world 10,000m silver medalist Stanley Waithaka.
“Moraa and Waithaka portray that good things take time. They were in the junior team just the other day but they have trained hard to get where they are. They are now reaping the fruits of their labour,” Korir said.
Meanwhile, after encountering numerous documentation bottlenecks in the lead-up to Cali, Korir has urged young athletes to ensure they register for their identification cards in good time to avoid last minute rush.
He also registered his disappointment over the increased anti-doping rule violations, especially at the just concluded World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
He revealed that they are organising seminars to educate the youngsters on doping and its effects as they transition to the senior category.
“We are organising seminars to create awareness on doping. We had one with the Athletics Integrity Unit in Cali and the young ones are paying attention. Doping has affected most of our senior athletes and we do not want it to affect the juniors,” he concluded.