The Kenya Defence Forces cross country championships went down yesterday at Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi, with a galaxy of stars and upcoming athletes in attendance. World and Olympic 5,000m champion Hellen Obiri easily won the 10km women race. She was expected to face stiff competition from world half marathon record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei who had also lined up for the 10km race, but was forced to drop out.
The fact that the two stars lined up for the race is good news and should motivate our young talent to participate in such events. It demonstrates that our world beating stars are willing to take part in local competitions and help raise the profile of these sports meetings.