Sports
Joshua kithuku and Naomi Chebet clocked 1.00.38 and 1.10.3 respectively to clinch titles in the second edition of the Uasin Gishu Half Marathon 21Km race for men and women categories. This was courtesy of Betika na Community, as the betting company aims to nurture young athletic talents from the grass roots through the initiative
“The team was strong. I maintained my pace from the start to finish despite competition from my colleagues, and I thank God I managed to be number one,” said Chebet the winner and champion of the last Nairobi City Marathon.
Ebenyo Simiyu and Abraham Kiptum clocked 1.00.412 and 1.00.503 to secure the second and third positions in the men’s category, Viola Chemos finished second with 1.10.19, followed by Gladys Jepkurui who emerged the third, clocking 1.10.35 in women category.
The Uasin Gishu Half Marathon saw the best athletes taking good prizes home, where positions 1 to 3 in both categories were awarded Sh 300000, 200000 and 100000 respectively, while the 4th, 5th and 6th positions bagged Sh 50000, 40000 and 30000 respectively.
Betika Brand Manager, Eric Mwiti (right), flanked by the World marathon champion Amos Kipruto (left) awarding Betika’s Uasin Gishu half marathon winner, Joshua Kithuku, Eldoret, Uasin Gishu, Sunday July 21, 2024.
The 7th to the 10th positions each received an equal prize amount of Sh20,000.
The champion in the Men’s category (Kithuku), who hails from Kitui and trains in Iten, expressed hope to winning bigger titles in future races, noting that he has enough capacity, owing to the remarkable achievements in the previous races like the Kaptagat half marathon where he emerged the 2nd.
He hopes to participate and win records in more similar marathons and also take part in international marathons like berlin and others. Kithuku’s coach John Ewoi training with the International Sports Service (ISS) acknowledged that his team was doing exemplarily well in the Betika Uasin Gishu Half Marathon, clinching the top 10 positions.
“We are doing great and we are hoping for more prizes in future, the secret to success in athletics is thorough training and discipline among the team members, paying heed to the coach’s instructions that is why they are performing well,” noted Ewoi.
He said they will continue to nurture and build up the capacity of Kithuku to participate in world’s top marathons, adding that today’s win was a big motivation to the emerging young athlete, who has never taken part in races outside the country.
This will encourage him to win more titles in more competitive races both locally and internationally. In his remarks, Betika Brand Manager, Eric Mwiti, lauded the about 600 athletes who turned up compared to last year’s 500, an indication that are really committed to showcasing their talents given a platform.
He assured the public that the half Marathon is there to stay and will now be included in the Athletics Kenya Calendar.
“We have been doing this for 3 years now. We began in Iten with a 10km road race, which was our first edition, 2nd and 3rd editions happened this year in May, while 2 editions for Kericho cross country 3rd edition, will be coming up in October this year. We have also introduced the Kapsabet 15Km Road Race that happened in march this year,” said the Betika Manager.
He pointed out that they are looking forward to doing more in the athletics side, noting that there is a well of talents discovered in these events, which also attracts the attention of world class athletes.
Young Athletes turned out in large numbers to take part in the Uasin Gishu Half Marathon 2nd Edition Courtesy of Betika na Community, Eldoret, Uasin Gishu, on Sunday, July 21, 2024. Photos by Ekuwam Sylvester.
“We have seen world class athletes participating and we would like to support this sport as much as we can by doing as many events as possible and by giving them a chance to participate and compete, which also acts as part of practice for them as they plan to take part in the global events,” explained Mwiti.
He commended the cooperation between the Athletics Kenya (AK) and other stakeholders, which has been helpful in organizing the events across the country.
Mwiti mentioned that Betika tries to support the sports persons in as many ways as they can, noting that the company is always open to feedback from stakeholders and the athletes, a move that has helped it roll out many initiatives to support the communities across the country.
“For example, when we started the Betika na community, it is because of the feedback that we received from the sports fraternity, for instance the need for football kits and we started an initiative that has kitted over a thousand teams so far in Kenya,” he added.
Noting that they are still new in athletics in terms of getting to know what their needs are, Mwiti alluded that, they would like to support them with equipment like shoes, running bibs and others, adding that it is only the sports persons, who can tell them what is important to them.