Kids athletics to feature at Kip Keino Classic

Kip Keino Classic, the sixth edition of the one-day World Athletics Continental Tour, scheduled for 31 May at the Nyayo National Stadium, will include Kids' Athletics.

Meet Director Barnaba Korir, confirmed the development as Kenya joined the world in celebrating World Kids’ Athletics Day on Wednesday, 7 May. The event was celebrated in Makueni and Elgeyo Marakwet Counties.

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“We intend to include Kids’ Athletics, not just as entertainment, but as a way of introducing children to the larger world of athletics,” Korir told Nation Sport. “As we celebrate this global event, only Norway and Uganda are currently ahead of us in championing Kids’ Athletics, but we are keen to remain among the top three.

We have plans to scale up activations of this programme in schools and densely populated areas, including informal settlements. It’s the best way to instill a love for the sport early and nurture a new generation of clean athletes.”

Korir also noted the developmental importance of the initiative: “It is one way of nurturing talents at a tender age, and the kids will grow knowing the right thing to do. This way, we can identify champions early and nurture them. We believe that every child is born to move, play, and explore no matter where they are in the world or their circumstance, and we are aiming to use the power of athletics to inspire children and young people.”

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World Athletics and its Member Federations, athletics clubs, schools, and people across the globe celebrated the day with the ‘Relay Around the World’, this year’s theme, Challenge.

This year’s theme is inspired by the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China. The challenge is the biggest, most inclusive Kids’ Athletics participation activity yet, with a target of 500,000 kids participating across the world, and is designed to inspire the athletes of tomorrow and get kids everywhere moving.

There is a tight race between the Ugandan, Norwegian, and Kenyan federations on the leaderboard, available via the Relay Around the World Challenge web app, which acts as a central hub for the campaign across the world, that ran between 6 April to 7 May.

In Tokyo, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, and Mitsugi Ogata, President of both the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) and the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 (WCH Tokyo 25), came together to reaffirm their commitment to making this year’s championships a landmark event that will inspire and empower children around the world.

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