MIRAMAS, France, Jul 10 – The Olympics goes beyond the games, it is an extravaganza where people from all walks of life gather to witness the greatness that the multi-sport event offers.
The fan zones, villages and stadium venues are usually a beehive of activities and to add on to the goodies there will be a Kenya House to showcase the country’s heritage.
It is from this background that the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) boss Paul Tergat called on the diaspora family living in France to come out in large numbers and support Team Kenya during the Games that officially start July 26 with the opening ceremony.
“The diaspora family living in France are our ambassadors, Olympics is once in four years, it is coming back to France after 100 years, therefore, we are encouraging everyone who lives not only in France but also within Europe to make sure that they come support our team and we will be very happy for that,” Tergat told Capital Sport on Wednesday at the Marseille International Airport, where he arrived ahead of the Miramas Team Kenya Boot Camp.
On Miramas Pre-Olympics camp, the five-time world cross country champion said, “This is one thing that we hope it will go on for many years because training camps before the Olympic games is very important.”
“These games are usually held outside Africa and the time difference is huge, that is why we want to see our athletes acclimatize well, and for them to have the confidence and not like before when they would arrive just less than a week to competition, it affects the performance of athletes in a big way,” Tergat added.
The legendary Tergat, who is a two-time Olympic 10,000m silver medalist, outlined that the class of 2024 Olympians stand a better chance of registering Kenya’s best performance ever owing to the ample preparations they have been accorded.
“The four years that the athletes have been waiting for is right here with us and apart from that, this is the apex of any competition, this is their time not many Kenyans are able to get this opportunity. I urge our athletes to go represent the country well, they are our ambassadors, icons and we are giving them all the support they need as NOC-K to see that they succeed,” Tergat, who is also a member of the IOC disclosed.
And with Faith Kipyegon smashing her own 1500m world record 21 days to the Games in the same country that will host the Olympics, Tergat tipped that it’s a sign of good things to come.
“Faith breaking the world record is a good sign that at this year’s Olympics Kenya will perform well because the confidence within the team is so high and to all of us we know that we have done everything to the favor of our athletes not officials or anyone else,” Tergat said in finality.
