Nock appoint Tokyo Olympics Chef de Mission
Team Kenya's Chef de Mission to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Waithaka Kioni gives his acceptance speech on July 24, 2019 at Crown Plaza. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
His appointment comes hot on the heels of the scandalous Rio Olympics that landed former NOC-K officials Kipchoge Keino and Stephen Soi in court over graft charges
The Tokyo Olympics will be the first real test for the newly elected office led by legendary long distance runner Paul Tergat
NOC-K has already settled for Japan’s Kurume City to host Kenya’s pre-Olympic Games camp
National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Noc-K) deputy president Waithaka Kioni has been named the Chef de Mission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Kioni, the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) president, will head Kenya’s delegation to the Summer Games which will be held in August next year.
His appointment comes hot on the heels of the infamous Rio Olympics that landed former Noc-K officials Francis Paul and Stephen Soi in court to face graft charges.
“It’s a big honour to be named Chef de Mission. It’s a position that comes with a lot of responsibility and I want to work closely with all stakeholders to uphold the principles of governance and integrity. We all know what happened in Rio so we have to work closely with the steering committee to ensure that all our activities are ethical,” Kioni told Nation Sport.
The veteran volleyball administrator reflected on Kenya’s performance at the 2016 Games where they bagged six gold, six silver and one bronze medal. He is optimistic that Team Kenya will surpass that historic performance under his leadership.
“The goal is to improve on our last performance and that means we have to get it right in the preparation phase. I am determined to ensure that our athletes get the best preparations so that they can be fully focused on their respective competitions,” said Kioni, who doubles up as the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) deputy president.
The Tokyo Olympics will be the first real test for the newly elected office led by legendary long distance runner Paul Tergat. Noc-K has already settled for Japan’s Kurume City to host Kenya’s pre-Olympic Games camp.
