Organisers of Nairobi’s World Athletics Continental Tour Meeting are leaving nothing to chance as they seek to make the historic Kip Keino Classic a success.
Even as the world continues to grapple with effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, expectations remain high with all eyes on Nairobi as Kenya’s capital prepares to stage an event of many firsts tomorrow.
Saturday’s competition will not only be the first international athletics event to be held in Kenya since the pandemic struck in March but also the first in Africa since then.
It will also be the first sporting activity to be staged at the newly refurbished Nyayo National Stadium since it was opened to the public last week after nearly three years of renovation.
Furthermore, few lucky Kenyans will have a rare chance of cheering on the world beaters as they take on their challengers on the track and field event.
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And it is because of these reasons that the Ministry of Sports, Athletics Kenya (AK) and other organisers are working round the clock to ensure the Continental Tour leaves a legacy for Kenyans.
According to Sports Permanent Secretary Joe Okudo, the country is ready for the championship that will be used to test the newly refurbished 30,000 seater facility.
Okudo expressed confidence in staging a successful event as they keenly observe Covid-19 protocols.
“We are ready for Saturday (tomorrow). We are having our last dress rehearsal tomorrow (today) and all committees are ready. I mean everybody is ready. All those who came from abroad to inspect are 100 per cent confident in our leadership and preparations as far as hosting his event is concerned,” said Okudo during yesterday’s routine inspection of the venue.
“We are still in discussions with our colleagues from the Ministry of Health, but we need to have some spectators because even for the athletes running, they’ll require some motivation. But we will agree on the number of fans so that we don’t compromise the international protocol.”
Just like Okudo, Athletics Kenya (AK) President Jackson Tuwei is looking forward to an entertaining event.
“We are absolutely ready for the Kip Keino Tour and that’s why we are here. You can see the athletes have arrived and many more are still arriving,” said Tuwei.
“Our Kenyan team is also ready for the event. We’ve trained well and taken the officials through the seminar just to familiarise them with the new rules and regulations. Remember, they have been out of action since the beginning of the year and they’ve never officiated in any event.”
“So, they are definitely rusty and they need to be reintroduced to some rules. We’ve looked at all the equipment and we’ve almost finalised the planning. I can authoritatively say, we are ready for the event.”
The retired Major General challenged sports administrators, officials and organisers to take a leaf from successful Kenyan athletes.
“Well, I think our athletes are quite good not just here but they’ve also shown that in the rest of the world. So, I believe they will do well. We want to get everything in place so that all participants and fans can enjoy themselves,” said Tuwei.
