Kenya to rely on track and field athletes for medals at Youth Olympics
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Kenya will rely on track and field for representation medals at this year's Youth Olympics in Singapore after all the other 16 disciplines failed to get qualification for their athletes.
Only swimmer Achieng Ajulu had qualified for the inaugural event, but has since switched her nationality to British.
Now, Kenya's hopes rests with athletics, which will have a squad of 30 jets out on Sunday for Khartoum Sudan for the Eastern Zone qualifiers.
Leader of the Kenyan delegation, Fridah Shiroya said apart from athletics, all the other 16 disciplines had finished their qualification and the only chance Kenyan participants have will be selection through the wild card.
"Like in swimming we had one who has since moved elsewhere. But Fina has showed willingness to give us two chances one for a girl and another for a boy. But that will be confirmed later," she said on Thursday.
Stephen Soi, an official with the National Olympic Committee of Kenya, said Kenya's contingence will be confirmed on June 15 after all the confederations had handed in their lists of representatives to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Wrestling, weight lifting, boxing and swimming will be considered for possible wild card selections according to Soi.
While refusing to apportion the blame on the lack of sound youth systems within the local federations Nock chairman, Kipchoge Keino, it was a valuable lesson they had learnt and will be wiser next time when organizing for such an event.
"The youth must be prepared well as they lay the foundation for the future generation and Kenya's domination in sports in the international arena," he said.
"We need finances to do this and we are partnering with the ministry of sports and education to see that we get the right talent and facilities to the youth majority who are still in formal education in primary or secondary schools."
The government set aside 139 million shillings towards the team preparations and participation in the games, the first of its kind under the IOC banner.
But with most of the money going towards paying of tickets to officials and athletes going for the qualifiers, little has been spent on actual training of the teams.
"I do not understand who most of the qualifiers were taken to Egypt. This shows they had more urgency to qualify their athletes. We must change our tactics," said Soi.
The inaugural Youth Olympic Games were introduced by International Olympic Committee and will be alternating every four years like the senior Olympic Games and will be restricted to athletes aged from 14 to 18 years.
Compared with other events, the youth Games will have a strong emphasis on education instead of competition.
NOC spend Sh2 million to 10 sports disciplines for their preparing eying to fill a small quota of 70 that was given to Kenya.
Keino said, while most of the athletes' entered in the qualifier events did not make the cut; it confirms that the standards have improved and Kenya needs to up its game.
"We also need finances to help secure some of these facilities and take them to the youths at the grassroot. Sport today is taken as a career and we must look at it that way. This means we must be ready to spend just like other countries do by coming up with academies and schools," said Keino.
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