L. MathekaKenya bidding to host one Diamond League leg next year
Reading Time: 3min | Fri. 22.04.22. | 11:58
The Kip Keino Classic will be held on 7 May.
As the country's profile continues to rise as one of the sporting destinations for athletes world over, Athletics Kenya (AK) is hoping to add a diamond league leg to the list of international events next year.
AK president Jack Tuwei says they are in talks with the organisers of the annual series, World Athletics and there is positivity on both parties on the likelihood of Kenya hosting a leg from next year.
WANDA Diamond league 2022 calendar is out. pic.twitter.com/KlSZXVUAlV
— David Rudisha (@rudishadavid) November 27, 2021
Speaking at the official launch of the annual World Athletics Continental Tour series, Kip Keino Classic held on Friday morning at Safari Park Hotel, Tuwei revealed that the success of the series will open doors for more events.
"One of the conditions was for us to show the ability to host well-organised events with the Continental Tour.
We have learnt a lot from the previous two editions. We had a very successful event last year than the 2020 event and we hope this year's event will be more successful than last year's because this is also our final year.
Namibia's Christine Mboma will be in town! #KipkeinoClassic @KipKeinoClassic #AbsaPresentsKipKeinoClassic @athletics_kenya @AbsaKenya pic.twitter.com/XDS1f7OBZb
— Stephen Musyoka (@smusyoka) April 22, 2022
Currently, only Rabat in Morocco has the hosting rights for a Diamond League in the continent which they were awarded in 2016. We hope that this year's Kip Keino convinces the organisers that we are ready for such an undertaking," said Tuwei.
The Wanda Diamond League encompasses 32 Diamond Disciplines, following a championship style model. Athletes earn points at the 13 series meetings to qualify for the final of their discipline.
At each of the 13 series meetings, Athletes are awarded points for ranking first to eighth respectively. The top six in the field events, top eight for 100m-800m and the top 10 for 1500m and long distances will qualify for the Final. In case of a tie, the best legal performance of the qualification phase wins.
"Once again it is an honour to have my name used for such a huge event. I want to thank the Government, Athletics Kenya as well as all the sponsors for standing with the organizers and raising the standards of the event" Kipchoge Keino@AbsaKenya @WorldAthletics@ContiTourGold pic.twitter.com/uoLvVoF1LU
— Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour (@KipKeinoClassic) April 22, 2022
The winner of each Diamond Discipline at the Final will become "Diamond League Champion" and be awarded a Diamond Trophy, USD 30'000 prize money and a wild card for the World Athletics Championships.
"In addition to the ability to host the one-day event, we also had to build capacity. Top of the list is having a prize purse for the event and on that front, I have to thank the government because they have guaranteed that this will not be an issue and that goes a long way in arguing our case to World Athletics," added Tuwei.
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