Boxing body announces dates for Paris Olympic trials

Bantamweight Amina Martha training at Mathare Police Depot. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

As Kenya tries to catch up with the rest of the continent, dates for the Paris Olympics trials have been announced by boxing officials.

The trials will be held at Charter Hall in Nairobi from June 29 to July 1 and boxers will be competing for the 13 slots in male and female categories.

Kenya intends to send seven male and six female boxers for the Africa Olympic Qualifiers (AOQ) who make it to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) weights.

The Olympic weights are flyweight (51kg), feather(57kg), light welter (63.5kg), light middle(71kg), light heavy (80kg), heavy (92kg) and super heavy (over 92kg) for male boxers.

The female boxers have their weights as light flyweight (50kg), bantam (54kg), feather (57kg), light (6okg), welter (66kg) and middleweight (75kg).

The first AOQ will be held between August to September with the dates and venue to be announced by the Africa Boxing Confederation (ABC) later.

It will be followed by the first and second World Olympic Qualifiers whose participants are those who will fail to make it to the continental level.

Gold medallists at the AOQ will automatically qualify for the Paris Olympics.

In a letter dated May 24, 2023 and signed by Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) Secretary General David Munuhe said: "Kindly be informed that only the boxers who are above Intermediate level and are in Olympic weights will be allowed to participate in the trials."

The trials are for the elite boxers and each participant is required to pay Sh2000 as Munuhe stated that the selection trials will be done on merit.