Kenya’s warning: London, here we come!

Kenya will take more than 100 athletes to the 2012 London Olympic Games, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) chairman Kipchoge Keino has said.

Consequently, Sports assistant minister Kabando wa Kabando put London on notice, saying “Kenya is coming to dominate and haul medals at the Olympics.”

The duo spoke on Tuesday at a ceremony to mark the 500-day countdown to the London 2012 at British High Commissioner Rob Macaire’s residence.

Kipchoge said that, with assistance from the government, they are determined to not just field a huge squad but also secure the best results ever.

An estimated Sh180 million will be spent to prepare the team. Kipchoge said through Kenya’s partnership with the City of Bristol, there will be exchange programmes between athletes and technical officials from the two countries ahead of the Games in a bid to enable more Kenyan athletes qualify in most of the 26 Olympic sports.

Registered its best ever performance

Kenya, which was represented by 60 athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, registered its best ever performance, especially by women, to win six gold, four silver and four bronze medals.

Pamela Jelimo won Kenya its first women’s Olympic gold medal in the 800 metres while Nancy Jebet Lagat crowned it with similar exploits in 1,500m.

“We want to especially focus on minor sports like rowing and swimming where Britain has facilities that are superior to Kenya’s,” said Keino.

The programme is set for as early as June when some local technical officials will visit Bristol, he added, and will also involve Paraplegic athletes.

Kabando said Kenya should strive to put more emphasis on indoor sports where there is great potential, singling out swimming, while the envoy said the team should expect great inspiration from close to 200,000 Kenyans living in Britain and especially their host, the City of Bristol.