Traditional dancers light up Kasarani Stadium

After a slow response from athletics fans to turn up and support athletes at Kasarani Stadium, the championship witnessed a good turnout Friday as Kenya won her first gold medal.

But a group of eight fans in traditional attire has continued lighting up the stadium with songs and dance. It’s a group that was composed of dancers drawn from Kenya Police Service, Prisons Service and Kenya Defence Forces.

The dancers have been attending athletics competitions and trials this year to cheer up their teams, culminating in the national trials for the World Championships in Athletics. From Wednesday, they have been a permanent fixture here at Kasarani Stadium.

According to the group’s leader, David Togom, they teamed up to cheer the Kenyan team at Kasarani as a way of motivating athletes to perform well.

“We were normally cheering squad for our various discipline forces and we decide to merge so that we can cheer our upcoming young men and women during these competitions,” he said.

He says they arrived at the idea during the IAAF World Cross Country Championships that was held in Kampala in March after bus loads of fans thronged the Ugandan capital to cheer the Kenyan team.

“We did this in March during the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala. The team performed very well because they got morale from the fans,” said Togom.

Togom says there is need for championship organisers to do thorough marketing of the event to prevent poor turnout by fans.
“Athletics organizers should always market the events in a big way just like football game is widely advertised. This is a big event and we expect a big number to fill this place,” he added.

So far Kenya has got only one five medals - two gold and three silver.