NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 2 – The national men’s rugby sevens team, Shujaa, and the women’s volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, will be among the first to report to Team Kenya’s residential training camp in Miramas, France, ahead of the Paris Olympic Games.
Team Kenya Chief Executive Officer Wanjiru-Mbugua-Karani, says that all plans are in place for the transition of the teams from their Kasarani residential training camps to Miramas in the coming week.
“Malkia have left for the Philippines for the Challenger Cup and we expect them to be back on the 8th before they leave for Miramas on the 10th. Shujaa are scheduled to leave on the 8th of this month for Miramas as well,” Karani said.
She added; “Our judoka, Zeddy, is training at Kasarani and is also scheduled to leave for Miramas on the 12th. Alexandra (Ndolo) is currently in France for a 10-day training camp after which she will leave to rest and now wait to return to the Olympic village for the competitions. We also expect our two swimmers to join us in Miramas on the 12th.”
Residential training at Kasarani
Shujaa and Malkia have been training at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani, while the short and middle distance athletes who are based in Nairobi have been shuttling between Kasarani warm up track and the Nyayo National Stadium.
Three sprinters; Ferdinand Omanyala, Zablon Ekwam and Wiseman Were Mkuhobe will leave the country this week for various competitions in Europe and are expected to sail straight to Miramas to prepare for the Olympics.
“We are in a good space. We have worked hard logistically to make sure that everything is available for the athletes for their preparations,” said Karani.
Yego qualified for Olympics
At the same time, Karani has revealed that Rio 2016 silver medalist Julius Yego has all but qualified for his third Olympics, by virtue of ranking. The qualification window closed midnight Sunday.
“As at now, Yego is 99pc in. We are also crossing fingers for the 4x400m relay team which is currently ranked number 16 and in the next 48 hours we should be able to confirm fully whether we have them in by virtue of ranking. We are hoping they can make it,” added the CEO.
The Olympic Games are scheduled to start on July 26.
