Sports
Former athletes have opened a 21-day athletic training camp in Kilgoris, Trans Mara West Sub-County to nurture and boost local sports talent within Narok county.
Speaking at Sosio Secondary School, where the training camp is being held, Paul Keriako emphasized the immense athletic potential in Narok County, noting that he spearheaded the initiative to launch the camp, which aims to develop young athletes from the Trans Mara region.
Keriako noted that the county has produced exceptional athletes, including Daniel Rudisha, the first Maasai to represent Kenya at the Mexico Olympics 1968, who is the father of the renowned David Rudisha, who hail from the trans Mara region. The camp, named “Iltenegol Camp,” meaning “Run Faster While You’re Young,” is focused on athletes aged 11 to 16 years from the larger Trans Mara area.
Keriako explained that many of these young athletes have already competed at national and regional levels, and the camp provides them with continuous training opportunities, rather than limiting their athletic pursuits to primary school competitions. Keriako expressed his ambition to see 6 to 10 athletes from the Trans Mara region representing the Country at the Olympics within the next four years, reaffirming that Trans Mara is a “home of champions.”
Photo showing the athletes in a training session in Sosio secondary school field.
Leshao Suntu, another former athlete and one of the coaches at the camp, highlighted the importance of restoring Trans Mara’s lost athletic glory. “We all know the legends like Old Man Rudisha, the father of David Rudisha, Billy Konchella, and William Yampoi. Unfortunately, athletics in our sub-county and the county at large has not met our expectations recently,” Suntu remarked.
Suntu noted that well-wishers had approached him to return to the field and train the next generation of athletes, noting that they were anticipating over 35 youths’ athletes to attend the training camp He also pledged to do his best to ensure that at least 6 athletes will emerge from the camp to represent the country in the upcoming cross-country events in the near future.
Suntu also called on the new Sports CS, Kipchumba Murkomen, to take responsibility and remember Trans Mara in the “Kuza Talanta” initiative. Parsaloi Kiseet, a parent who brought his child to the training camp applauded the President for appointing CS Murkomen, who hails from a region with a rich history of producing athletes.
Jackson Moshonkoi echoed the sentiments of other parents, expressing hope that his daughter, who has shown great talent, will be nurtured to become a future champion. Moshonkoi urged the government to continue supporting young talent, pointing out many of Kenya’s champions come from Trans Mara.