Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei has explained why they changed the name of the Agnes Tirop Cross Country Championships to Sirikwa.
The AK boss said it was difficult to put a distinction between Agnes Tirop Foundation and the Agnes Tirop Cross Country Championships.
In addition, Tuwei said, Tirop’s family did not want their daughter’s name used for the purposes of the World Athletics Continental Tour race.
“We, therefore, respected their views and agreed that they be left alone to continue with their arrangements in promoting her legacy,” Tuwei said.
And to settle for a new name for the now annual race, Tuwei said they held consultations with various stakeholders.
“We did a lot of homework in search of a suitable name. We consulted the North Rift Economic Bloc (NOREB) Counties through Uasin Gishu and we agreedto rename the race—Sirikwa Cross country,” Tuwei said. “We have also informed World Athletics of our intentions. If you read much on Sirikwa, you will appreciate the name.”
However, Tuwei observed that the race will still be held at the Lobo Village in Kapseret, Uasin Gishu County.
“As a federation, we want to thank World Athletics for honouring us with such an event. We are eager to host next year’s event at the Lobo Village, where we installed an Quality Air Sensor early this week,” said Tuwei.
Meanwhile, has hailed Tirop’s manager Gianni Dimadonna for offsetting the late athlete’s pending payments, amounting to Sh10m, to the family.
“I personally talked to Gianni to find out if he had any pending payments for Tirop. I am grateful that the manager was very open with me, indicating that there was about Sh10m of uncleared payments, which he cleared within three months after Tirop’s demise,” said Tuwei.
“All the money was paid directly to the family, not through AK. I talked to the father and rest of the family and they confirmed receiving the money. As much as Tirop is gone, we made sure that everything was done properly.”
