MIRAMAS, Paris, Jul 14 – One facet of sport a myriad athletes share time and time again is that their playing career will end, and that they’ll transition into something new upon retirement.
Malkia Strikers’ retired setter Janet Wanja has always wanted to sit on the technical bench during her active days on the court.
And her dream couldn’t have come at a better time when the national women’s volleyball team is preparing to grace the 2024 Olympic Games in the French Capital.
Granted, the erstwhile poster girl of Kenyan volleyball terrain ultimately found her way back into the team she was a part of for donkey’s years, but this time in a different capacity.
After asserting unmatched authority on the court for over to 10 years, making Olympics debut in 2004 at the age of 19, and representing Kenya at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan, Wanja feels her dream as the team’s trainer has come too soon.
“Being here as a trainer feels awesome, something that I didn’t expect to come so soon. I have always dreamt of being on the technical bench after my playing career, and it came sooner than I expected which is a good thing. I’m so proud of myself and I feel great about it,” Wanja said.
Wanja was among the Malkia Strikers’ entourage who waltzed into the city of Miramas Friday for pre-Olympics training.
“It has been a while since I represented Kenya and Paris 2024 is a big deal, a dream come true to be on the technical bench. Our target is to perform better than in other competitions. If we perform well, that will be great, but we can’t put pressure on the girls, we just want them to enjoy playing.”
Kenya is in Pool B alongside Brazil, Poland and Japan. Pool A will feature France, USA, China and Serbia while Pool C has Italy, Türkiye, Netherlands and Dominican Republic
The Olympic volleyball tournaments at Paris 2024 will be conducted under a new format, starting with three round-robin pools of four.
The pool winners, the pool runners-up and the two best ranked third-placed teams will advance to the quarterfinals for the start of the single elimination bracket that will lead to the semifinals and eventually to the medal matches to determine the Olympic podium.
The Paris 2024 volleyball matches will be held at the South Paris Arena in the French capital from July 27 to August 11 to produce the 16th Olympic volleyball champions in each gender.
-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Miramas, France-
