Kenyans hunt for gold medal in Cape Verde
What you need to know:
- Kenya bagged a silver through half marathon runner Charles Yosei Mneria
- Kenya claimed bronze from the men’s beach tennis duo of Fazal Mohammed Khan and Kibet Yego.
The country’s sole kite board surfing entry Nzioka to do battle on the freezing Atlantic Ocean today
With silver and bronze in the bag, Kenya's hunt for the elusive gold medal shifts to football, volleyball and surfing as the inaugural Africa Beach Games enter Day Six in Sal, Cape Verde, on Wednesday.
Kenya bagged a silver through half marathon runner Charles Yosei Mneria, and bronze from the men’s beach tennis duo of Fazal Mohammed Khan and Kibet Yego.
Today, Kenya’s sole kite board surfing entry, John Koyiet Nzioka, will attack the freezing Atlantic Ocean after having been forced to hire training equipment to finalize his training on Monday.
Unlike the Indian Ocean’s not-too-cold waters on which he has been training in Mombasa, Nzioka has been battling to get familiar with the Atlantic Ocean water that’s currently freezing cold.
“It is not as cold as I thought, I can manage in it,” he put on a brave face after yesterday’s final rounds of training. “There is no big difference between the two as long as you are on the water. The moment you fall then there is a problem, because you don’t want to freeze,” said Nzioka who will compete in the regatta.
“The winds are gustier compared to what we have in Mombasa, but as a kite surfer, or as a driver, you have to adapt to all kinds of conditions – if its gusty, then you need to know exactly how to fly your kite.” To make up for lost time, Nzioka has been putting in four hours of training every day to get used to the conditions that include very strong winds with turbulence in some parts of the ocean.
Also in action today will be the men’s football team and men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams.
The teams:
Men’s beach football team:
Daido Manase, Michael Shaban Kamau, Patrick Imani Isaac, Farid Mbwana Bwana, Hudheifa Omar Mchulla, Adamson Saa Raphael, Moustafa Hassan Tayebali, Fahad Nasir Salim, Rajab Chai Hamisi, Paul Kavula
Beach Volleyball, women: Gaudencia Nakhumicha Makokha, Naomie Too; Men: Ibrahim Oduor Odindo, James Gathua Mwaniki
Kite board surfing; John Koyiet Nzioka.
