Athletics Kenya has released the calendar of events in preparation for Team Kenya's participation in next year's World Championships in Tokyo.
On Wednesday morning, Athletics Kenya (AK) unveiled its activity calendar for 2024/25, leading up to next year’s World Championships in Tokyo.
The activity calendar features both local and international competitions aimed at preparing Team Kenya to excel at the global event.
During the launch of ' Road to Tokyo' at Weston Hotel in Nairobi, Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen encouraged all stakeholders to align with the calendar by establishing long-term goals for Tokyo.
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“With the 2024/25 calendar now released, I urge all the athletes and their coaches to keep their eyes firmly on the ball. I want to congratulate AK for a job-well-done…the calendar is quite expansive and includes cross country, marathon, track and field as well as mountain running,” the CS said in a speech read by principal secretary Peter Tum as per Athletics Kenya.
“Partnership with the corporate sector is important for identification of new talent. We need to expand our sports portfolio to enhance our chances of winning much more medals at the international stage. At the Olympics, we clinched six medals, which is far below what we are capable of,” said Murkomen as he called for the federation to partner with the corporate sector to identify and nurture talent during local competitions.
The CS's sentiment was echoed by AK president Jack Tuwei who spoke at the same event.
“Athletics Kenya is currently in a unique position in that the CS has issued instructions that we need to look outside for support as opposed to depending on the Government Financial input alone. It is for this reason we have approached some corporates to support us in this Road to Tokyo,” said Tuwei.
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Commonwealth Games 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala and 2015 world javelin champion Julius Yego were among top athletes that graced the unveiling.
The new calendar year kicks off with this Saturday's Cross Country in Kericho, followed by the Run for Health and Fitness 10K Run in Eldoret on Sunday.
The World Athletics Championships will be held in Tokyo from September 13-21, 2025.