Team Kenya from the just concluded 19th World Athletics Indoor Championships returned yesterday following a spirited campaign in Nanjing, China.
The team of 10 athletes was led by team manager Abdullahi Omar, and coaches Vincent Mumo and Janeth Jepkosgei .
Kenya failed to win a medal in this year’s championship with 1500m Olympian Susan Ejore finishing a distance 6th in the final while Purity Gitonga and Cornelius Kemboi finished 8th in the 3,000m finals.
The line-up also included 2022 World Indoor 800m silver medallists Noah Kibet and Alex Ngeno (800m), Dorcas Ewoi (1,500m), Festus Lagat (1,500m), Purity Gitonga (3,000m) and Cornelius Kemboi (3,000m).
Speaking at Riadha House on Tuesday as AK welcomed the athletes back, AK chair for youth development Barnaba Korir praised the squad for their resilience.
“This morning we welcomed the team from China at Riadha House.”
“We appreciate their performance; whenever an athlete goes out to compete, their hope is always to do well and especially to win,” Korir said.
Despite not coming back home with medals, Korir highlighted that the team represented the country valiantly.
“They may not have won, but they represented the country very well, and we are proud of their performance,” he added.
Team manager Omar emphasised that competing at the World Indoors is always a challenge for Kenya, given the country’s limited exposure to indoor racing.
“I think the performance was wonderful; that’s not what we expected when we left the country. Kenya most of the time does not compete indoors, so the performance was very commendable,” he said.
Coach Mumo echoed Omar’s sentiments, highlighting the lack of proper indoor training facilities as a major hurdle.
“We went to China to win, but because this is a championship, every country was there to win. So in a championship, you either win or lose. Our performance was good; the athletes tried their best.”
“The only challenge we faced was the indoor facilities, which Kenya does not have,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Captain Kipruto commended his teammates for giving their all. “The competition was good. We did our best according to our abilities,” he noted.
The USA topped the medal table with 16 medals (6 gold, 4 bronze and 4 silver), followed by Norway with 3 gold and a bronze, while Ethiopia finished 3rd and the best-placed African nation with 2 gold medals and 3 silvers.
