Kurume City prepares to host Team Kenya

Retired athlete Stephen Mayaka (centre) and other Kenyan runners join Kurume City Council officials and junior high school students at the 'Jambo Kenya’ celebrations on February 16, 2020. Kurume will host Kenya’s pre-Olympic Games training camp in July. PHOTO | POOL |

What you need to know:

  • Kurume is also the original home of Bridgestone Tyres whose operations were started was in 1931 by Japanese entrepreneur Shojiro Ishibashi.
  • The city has offered a three-week window for the Kenyan team to take residence at the Kurume Sports Centre and, almost certainly, enjoy the region’s top three delicacies – Kurume Ramen, Kurume Yakitori (grilled skewers) and Chikugo Udon (noodled in light broth)!

The love affair between Kenya and Kurume City, cemented on the eve of Valentine’s Day last week, continued to blossom with the Japanese city holding a special event to celebrate the union on Sunday.

Kurume will host Team Kenya’s pre-Olympic Games training camp in July and locals are besides themselves with joy, eager to welcome Kenya’s sports legends in the summer.

Led by former distance running sensation Stephen Mayaka, one of the first Kenyan elite athletes to settle in Japan over 30 years ago, a group of Kenyan elite runners joined about 2,000 locals in celebrating the partnership.

Besides Kenya, Kazakhstan have also chosen Kurume as their base ahead of the July 24 to August 9 Olympic Games.

A special Ekiden (relay marathon) was held, featuring junior high school students followed by a special 1,500 metres track contest between the Kenyan athletes and local track stars.

Besides Kenya-born Mayaka, who also holds Japanese citizenship, the other Kenyan runners at the Kurume ceremony yesterday were Cyrus Njui, a former winner of the Sapporo Half Marathon and Hokkaido Marathon, Silas Kiplagat and Victor Kimosop.

A member of the Kurume City Council spots a special uniform designed to celebrate Kenya and Kazakhstan pre-Olympic training camps in the Japanese city. PHOTO | POOL |

The chairman of the Kurume City Council, Kazunobu Nagata - who was in the Kurume delegation that signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kenyan government and National Olympic Committee of Kenya in Nairobi last Thursday – led yesterday’s celebrations, dubbed “Jambo Kenya.”

“The locals in Kurume are looking forward to hosting the Kenyan team in July because they wish to see how fast Kenyans run,” said Mayaka on telephone from Kurume City.

“But we have also told them that they must train hard to run as fast as Kenyans, and if they wish to be as successful as Kenyan athletes, then they must also consider training at high altitude in Kenya.”

Mayaka handed the Kurume students fresh rose flowers from Kenya, along with certificates, as a symbol of the partnership.

Nagata, along with Akie Omaga, Deputy Governor of Fukuoka Prefecture (province), where Kurume is located, and Toshitaka Nakasima, the Deputy Mayor of Kurume City, were in Nairobi for the signing ceremony last week.

Retired athlete Stephen Mayaka (right) presents Kenyan flowers and certificates to junior high school students at the 'Jambo Kenya’ celebrations on February 16, 2020. Kurume will host Kenya’s pre-Olympic Games training camp in July. PHOTO | POOL |

Sports Principal Secretary Joe Okudo and National Olympic Committee of Kenya President Paul Tergat signed the MoU on behalf of Kenya.

Fukuoka Airport, which is 30 kilometres away from Kurume City, is two hours’ flight away from Tokyo and quite accessible with 66 daily flights in operation from the Japanese capital.

The Shinkasen (high speed train) takes just 17 minutes from Fukuoka Airport to Kurume City, with a bus trip taking 45 minutes.

Covering an area of about 230 square kilometres and with a population of about 307,000, Kurume was picked as an ideal training camp for Team Kenya due to its good facilities and weather that averages 27 to 29 degrees Celcius in the summer, conditions similar to what athletes will expect in Tokyo.

Kurume is also the original home of Bridgestone Tyres whose operations were started was in 1931 by Japanese entrepreneur Shojiro Ishibashi.

The city has offered a three-week window for the Kenyan team to take residence at the Kurume Sports Centre and, almost certainly, enjoy the region’s top three delicacies – Kurume Ramen, Kurume Yakitori (grilled skewers) and Chikugo Udon (noodled in light broth)!