New sport takes county’s fame as home of athletics champions to the skies

A new sport is taking the county’s fame as the home of athletics champions to the skies.

For decades, the county has produced record-breaking long-distance runners who have won international acclaim.

Now the region is becoming famous for a different kind of sport — where records are set in the air rather than on the ground.

The sport that is gaining popularity is paragliding, or riding the winds.

Hundreds of men and women are trooping to the edges of the Kerio escarpment to take dare-devil plunges, trusting in nothing more than the wind and a parachute.

Paragliders flock

Between December and February, hundreds of paragliders flock to Kerio View Hotel in Iten town.

On a clear day, the sky over the escarpment is dotted with blue, pink and red parachutes as the gliders do their spiral dives and fast descents, with some remaining airborne for hours before landing.

The ‘pilots’ sit in a harness, suspended below a giant fabric wing that is propelled by the winds.

The sport is currently dominated by tourists from Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland and the US, some who travel thousands of miles to train on the escarpment.

“The ridge here is very long and offers several challenges depending on the prevailing weather conditions. It enables all category of paragliders to train,” said Leone Pascale, 52, an Italian paraglider and trainer.

The warm winds and the picturesque undulating hills are turning the region into one of the world’s favourite spots for paragliding.

“It is conducive for the sport because the skies are clear and we do not have many aircraft flying over the valley. Gliders can climb thousands of feet without fear,” said Olaf Feldmann, another paraglider.

But the sport has claimed several casualties as some parachutes collapse in midair, sending their riders plunging hundreds of feet from the sky to their deaths.

Safety arrangements

Three paragliders have died in the past week, forcing the local security team to rethink the safety arrangements for visitors.

On Wednesday, 46-year-old Thomas Lednik from Czech Republic and his trainee Kimberly Ann Pace from the US died when their parachute collapsed above Kipka village.

Following the deaths, police announced plans to craft safety rules and procedures for the sport.

“We shall invite expert opinion from the meteorological and aviation departments to share with us how to make the sport safer and avoid similar tragedies,” said Keiyo North OCPD Mwenda Meme.

Kerio View Resort Director Jean-Paul Fourier said most of the safety measures were up to the paragliders.

“The sport depends on how cautious one is, some do stunts in the air while others just ride calmly and this determines how risky or safe the paragliding gets. With good weather one can stay airborne for up to eight hours,” said Mr Meme.