Great track and field show by Kenya team

Kenya enters the weekend with a huge possibility of lifting the overall African athletics title for the first time in the continental track and field competition’s 31-year history.

The gallant performance of our team has run in tandem with flawless organisation of the 17th Safaricom Africa Senior Athletics Championships that has so far boasted capacity crowds at the spruced-up Nyayo National Stadium on the first three days of competition.

Full government support, as displayed by the presence on Friday of Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki on the opening day, along with the championships’ financial backing by Treasury, has seen Kenya host one of the most successful international competitions.

The meet’s title sponsors, Safaricom, alongside the other local companies backing the competition, including Kenya Airways and the National Bank of Kenya, must be commended for helping bridge the budget deficit.

With five gold medals, two silver and three bronze by Friday, Kenya’s tally is set to increase in the final two days with further medals expected Saturday in the women’s 10,000m.

And in Sunday’s final day, we expect further success in the women’s 800m and steeplechase, men’s 1,500m, the men’s and women’s walks and long relays that should hoist Kenya to the top of the continent for the first time ever.

As we celebrate this success, Athletics Kenya must build on the gains, especially in the field events, where Cherotich Koech won a rare bronze in the women’s high jump on Friday.

Now that these championships have brought the much needed equipment Kenyan athletes have been yearning for in their quest for glory, especially in the hammer throw, high jump, hurdles and the pole vault, we need to start grooming young talent for the 2012 Olympics in London and four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games.

While we congratulate our 10 medalists thus far, let’s all rally behind our team today and tomorrow to ensure that Kenya celebrates its first ever overall title at the Africa championships by trooping into the Nyayo National Stadium and show just how proud we are to be Kenyan.