Korir Applauds Massive Youth Participation at Chepsaita Cross Country, Confident in Kenya’s Athletic Future
In this initiative, sport is combined with environmental and creative activities such as tree planting and making sustainable cardboard batons.
Athletics Kenya AK Youth and Development director Barnaba Korir . Photo/Courtesy
By Ruth Sang
The Youth Development Committee chairperson of Athletics Kenya, Barnaba Korir, expressed his immense satisfaction with the impressive turnout of young runners during this year’s Great Chepsaita Cross Country on Saturday. The event saw an unprecedented number of children take part in this third edition, a development that Korir says signals a bright and thriving future for Kenyan athletics.
Korir, the First Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya, said that this was testimony to Athletics Kenya’s sustained effort to build talent from the grassroots, since there was a strong presence of youngsters on the course.
“This is the biggest group of children we have ever seen at this competition,” he said. “It confirms that our youth development strategy is working. To help these young athletes discover and refine their abilities, we must begin nurturing them early — and that is exactly what we are committed to.”
These included four different divisions for children: a 500-metre race for the 5 to 7-year olds, boys and girls; a 1-kilometre race for the children between 8 and 10 years of age; a 2-kilometre race for the 11 to 13-year-old participants; and a competitive category for the teens, ages 14 to 15.
The Great Chepsaita Cross Country has grown rapidly since its inception, turning it into a major discovery platform for emerging athletic talent. More than 8,500 participants attended this year’s edition, according to Korir, a milestone that he argues reflects an increasing profile of the event.
“Chepsaita’s growth has been phenomenal. In just three years, it has earned recognition beyond Kenya, which speaks volumes about its rising importance,” he said.
What inspired Korir most about the meet was the turnout of the children, something he said had been made possible by parental support and community involvement.
“It is great to see so many youngsters participating and parents supporting them. This is the way we would like to go forward-investing in talent at a young age and giving hope and opportunities to these children,” he added.
He attributed the success of the event to Athletics Kenya’s strong talent development structures, which include partnering with schools and setting up training bases throughout the country. These, he said, were in line with the World Athletics Kids’ Athletics programme, which had guided many of the youth initiatives being implemented locally.
“Our collaboration with both primary and secondary schools has helped generate more interest in athletics,” Korir said. “We’ve also set up camps around the country to help young athletes grow, supported strongly by the government.”
It is a commitment that was already evident earlier in the year when Kenya clinched 10,000 dollars in the World Athletics Relays youth competition — a victory Korir says can be attributed to the development structures already in place.
He further mentioned that Kenya ranked top among all Member Federations during World Athletics’ Kids’ Athletics Day challenge, mobilizing over 140,000 children across the country – almost three-quarters of the total participation worldwide. In this initiative, sport is combined with environmental and creative activities such as tree planting and making sustainable cardboard batons. The Great Chepsaita Cross Country has further been impactful beyond sports: Through patron Farouk Kibet, it has supported the education of less-privileged children within the community by awarding scholarships to a value of 20 million shillings, a gesture Korir said continues to transform lives.
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