Kenyan track and field coach David Letting believes Kenya has the qualities to host a successful IAAF Diamond League leg. PHOTO/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 18 – After successfully hosting the 2017 IAAF World U18 Championships, track and field coach David Letting feels that Kenya should now stage a Diamond League leg.
Letting, who is also convinced Kenya can host IAAF World Championships, saw his views adopted on Monday when Athletics Kenya President Lt. Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei and Mwangi Muthee, the Local Organising Committee CEO for the just concluded World U18 Championships announced that Kenya will bid to host the 2020 IAAF World U20 Championships and one of the Diamond League leg.
Speaking to Capital sport, Leting said Kenya has proved to the world that it can host global competitions successfully, insisting that nothing stops the nation that has produced world beaters from hosting other world events.
“The IAAF World U18 Championships has shown that Kenyans love athletics because the stadium was full until security locked out many people meaning it was over 60,000, so this shows that we can host any international event like Diamond League, World Championships or World Challenge. We are capable since we have the facilities,” Letting said.
However, despite noting that the Local Organising Committee delivered a world class event, Letting challenged the government to revamp other stadia across the country to international standards.
“It was a world class event because everybody is happy, IAAF is happy about the crowd and the officiating. We need to improve in other structures in Nairobi and other towns.”
Morocco is the only African country that has the privilege of hosting an IAAF Diamond League that is normally run July in Rabat.
A lot of lessons can be drawn from the success and short comings experienced during the IAAF World U18 Championships especially Football Kenya Federation who are set to host the 2018 Africa Nations Championship.
-By Kennedy Motari-
