Kenya hopes to harvest medals at Paralympic Games

By Erick Ochieng’

National Paralympics team departed to London on Monday night in high spirits, ready for a medal harvest at the 14th edition of the Paralympic Games.

Team Kenya pledged to shatter records in London and surpass the Beijing mark of five gold, three silver and a bronze the country posted four years ago in China.

The Beijing record has been Kenya’s best since the country set foot in the Games in 1972 in Heidelberg, Germany.

Those who have pledged gold  in the team include Henry Wanyoike, the 2000 Sydney Paralympics T11 5,000m gold medalist who has ditched his specialty for the  marathon (T11) where he will be guided by his long term running partner Joseph Kibunja.

Wanyoike, who has always been confident in the 5,000m race which has earned him local and international decoration, said he wanted to try something different in London and that is why he went for the marathon. It will be the first time Kenya is represented in the marathon in the Paralympics.

Taking Wanyoike’s T11 5,000m speciality is Francis Thuo Karanja who will be guided by his training partner and brother James Kuria Karanja.

Training together

Thuo and Karanja have been training together in Nakuru  since 1999.

“In 2004 in Athens we won bronze, in Beijing we got silver. Owing to the kind of training we have done, we will definitely get gold in London,” said elated Thuo who is grateful to have a reliable and trusted brother as his running mate and guide.

Women’s only T12 (1500m) representative Egla Mosop  has worked hard on her lapses and believes she is up to speed  in the category. Mosop’s other  mission is to post a personal best, specifically to create a national record in London in case she misses gold.

Just like Mosop, Nelly Nasimiyu (T12, 400) is optimistic of delivering Kenya’s first gold medal in the sprint after an intensive training for the past four months.

Enter three categories

Hannah Ngendo and Mary Nakhumicha are the only athletes in the team that will represent Kenya in three categories.

Determined Nakhumicha  has vowed to get at least a gold medal in either of the F57 (Javelin, Discuss and shot-put) that she has registered for,  while Ngendo plots  an assault in the short distance races, T12 (100m, 200m and 400m).

The team’s head coach Francis Kibuchi is optimistic they will perform well in London. He said the team has been inspired by the pledge made by mobile phone service provider Safaricom to reward Sh1 million for gold, Sh600,000 for silver and Sh300,000 for bronze.

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Sports Assistant Minister Wavinya Ndeti urged the team to return with 14 gold medals to beat Beijing mark.

The team will stay at the Kenya’s camp in Bristol, London, before moving to the Olympic village on August 27 for the Paralympic Games to be held between August 29 and September 9.