TOKYO 2020: Olympics countdown starts

The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage today officially kicked off the countdown to the postponed 2021 Tokyo Olympics that are scheduled to take place later on in July this year. With the Olympic games fast approaching, sports cabinet secretary Amina Mohammed joined the rest of the world in marking the last one hundred days before the Olympic opening ceremony.

The day was marked with a launch event at the Nairobi National Museum, with Team Kenya athletes, joined by the Sports CS and President of Olympics Kenya, Dr. Paul Tergat, unveiling the slogan for Team Kenya heading into the games.

“The reason we work every day is for the country, for the people, for our family, friends and children. That forms the thinking behind the slogan we have chosen #YouAretheReason. Our expectation is that this campaign will combine the launch of the team Kenya have while at the same time run the Olympics to keep inspiring Kenyans to start looking for a reason to work towards the next Olympics,” she stated.

Amina also went ahead to ensure the athletes that the government would support them even though a dark cloud hangs over the state of sports in the country after all activities were suspended by the president.

“It was very important for us to have this because it shows our commitment to the athletes and it also refocuses everyone’s mind to the Olympics. We have had challenges for the past one year with COVID-19 and minds are all over the place. We felt it was important to celebrate this for the athletes to see that the country is with them and we appreciate what they do for us,” CS Amina stated.

88 athletes who have qualified for Tokyo will enter into a bubble at Kasarani where they will continue with their preparations. Kenya is expected to field teams in various fields including the marathon where world record holder Eliud Kipchoge and double world champion Hellen Obiri will represent the country in the men’s and women’s marathon. Kenya will also take part in rugby, taekwondo, volleyball and boxing among other sports.

And as the world marks 100 days to Tokyo, Team Kenya also launched its own website which will be the hub for all team news about the Olympics, stories and schedules.