Athletes to undergo anti-doping training in Eldoret

SuperSport East Africa general manager Auka Gecheo (left) presents a dummy cheque of Sh1 million to National Olympic Committee of Kenya chairman Kipchoge Keino (right) in Nairobi on July 26, 2016. Sports Principal Secretary Richard Ekai looks on. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |

What you need to know:

  • Last year, EABL gave Nock Sh21 million towards the team’s preparations, while Safaricom sponsored the national athletics trials to the select the Kenyan team to the Olympics last month in Eldoret.
  • The first batch of 60 Kenyan athletes and official has already arrived in Rio with the next batch expected to depart on July 31, August 7 and August 14.

Team Kenya athletes who are yet to travel to Brazil for the 2016 Olympics will undergo training to sensitise them on matters related to doping on Wednesday in Eldoret.

National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) chairman, Kipchoge Keino, on Tuesday said the training is part of efforts to sensitise the athletes on doping ahead of the Games.

“The Key thing about doping is education of the athletes. We have and will continue providing that education to athletes,” Keino said.

Already officials of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) have visited the team’s training camp in Eldoret on four occasions to conduct tests on the Rio-bound athletes.

NO CAUSE FOR WORRY

However, Keino said there is no cause for worry over the increased testing on the athletes who will be subjected to further tests in Rio.

“Our team has prepared well for the Olympic Games and we believe we are sending out a clean which will win medals for the country,” Keino said on Tuesday during the presentation of Sh1 million by MultiChoice Kenya to the team’s kitty at a Nairobi hotel.

Speaking at the same function, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Richard Ekai reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring that Kenyan athletes are not implicated in doping.

SPORTS SUPERPOWER

“Kenya is a leader in world sports and we are going to ensure that we test our athletes as many time as possible,” Ekai said.

Meanwhile, sports fans in the country will be able to catch all the action in Rio on seven channels that SuperSport has dedicated for the coverage of the Games.

“We are happy to support NOC-K with a small token in addition to the content we are delivering to East Africans,” SuperSport East Africa General Manager, Auka Gecheo, said during the function.

This is the latest sponsorship that the team has received from leading corporates that include Safaricom, East African Breweries Limited and lottery firm Lotto.

Early this month, Lotto has pledged Sh40 million towards Team Kenya’s preparations for the Games while EABL chipped in an additional Sh3 million towards the same course.

Last year, EABL gave Nock Sh21 million towards the team’s preparations, while Safaricom sponsored the national athletics trials to the select the Kenyan team to the Olympics last month in Eldoret.

The first batch of 60 Kenyan athletes and official has already arrived in Rio with the next batch expected to depart on July 31, August 7 and August 14.