Commonwealth Games: Kenyans tipped

British High Commissioner Christian Turner has tipped Team Kenya will excel at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

“Team Kenya has fantastic athletes and I expect them to do better than the previous Commonwealth Games in New Delhi where they collected 12 medals,” Turner told FeverPitch at Safaricom Kasarani Centre in Nairobi, yesterday.

“I’m excited about the performance of rugby sevens team because they have put Kenya on the world stage with their great displays in the IRB Series,” he said.

Dr Turner said although he will have a soft spot for Team Kenya during the Games, he will not hesitate to cheer Mo Farah when he takes on the East Africans on track contests.

The envoy was speaking when he visited Team Kenya at their training camp at Moi International Sports Centre, yesterday.
His visit to the camp was mainly to oversee a Biometric Visa Clinic that was conducted by the British High Commission personnel.

The one-day clinic facilitated visa accreditation for all Team Kenya members.
Dr Turner said the Commission decided to conduct the Biometric Clinic at the camp so as not to distract Team Kenya training schedule.

“Instead of Team Kenya coming to our offices, we’ve brought our offices to them,” he said.

The High Commissioner is scheduled to host Team Kenya to a party at his Nairobi residence on July 11.
Athletes used the opportunity to apply for the UK Visas on the second day of the residential training at the sports facility.

It was a busy day for hopeful athletes as they went through their training at various venues, at the Centre and other venues across the Capital City.

Teams that trained at the main venue included athletics, boxing, judo, badminton and hammer.
Bowling team are training at the Nairobi Club, while table tennis are at Goan Institute.

The triathlon team of Helen Kinuthia, Jess de Boer, Swaleh Balala and Vincent Ochieng’ are optimistic of returning impressive results in Glasgow.

Boer, who is Kenya champion and sister to motor cycle ace Allan de Boer, said: “I started triathlon this year and I want to believe that I have a lot to learn.

“I have been involved in other sports like hockey, swimming, kite surfing, cycling and biking and the experience I gained from these disciplines will definitely come in handy at Glasgow,” said the former Sliders hockey club player.

Swaleh Balala who has been Kenyan champion from 2010-2014 hopes for better performance at Glasgow following a series of encouraging results from various international Championships.

Balala, who is nephew to Cabinet Secretary for Mining Najib Balala, finished sixth overall at the last All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique in 2011.

“This is the first time that Kenya is taking triathlon to Commonwealth Games and I expect to finish in medal brackets,” said Balala who came second in Pan Africa/Arabia Championships in Egypt early this year.

Triathlon is one of the most gruelling disciplines as it comprises of swimming a distance of 1.5km, cycling 40km and then running 10km.