World Games parkour freestyle winner calls for investment to growing the sport in Kenya

World Games Parkour freestyle winner Noa Diorgina has praised the massive Parkour talent in Kenya, calling for their nurturing into professional athletes.

The 19-year-old world sensation while speaking at a Parkour workshop organized by Red Bull Kenya attended by Parkour athletes drawn from various parts of the country, called for improvement and building of infrastructure to draw more athletes into the sport.

“I have witnessed a lot of talent from Kenyan Parkour athletes. All they need now is to practice a lot to achieve competition levels. Parkour is not necessarily a new sport, it is just that it is not popular across the world and it is initiatives like this that will make it known,” Diorgina offered.

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During the workshop, the local Parkour athletes were taken through a training program where they got the opportunity to learn from some of the experienced parkour athletes who accompanied Diorgina into the country. 

At just 19, Diorgina has risen through the ranks and beaten all expectations to stand in a league of her own with her 2022 World Games accolades making her stand out as the face of female parkour.

With the workshop drawing few female parkour athletes in the country, Diorgina’s involvement in the tour as well as her international recognition is seen as one of the ways to encourage more females into the sport.

She expressed her hopes to compete in the upcoming Olympic Games in a bid to build on the 2022 World Games title.

Meanwhile, Jason Paul, a German-born Parkour athlete with 20 years of experience in the sport praised the local community for showcasing resilience amidst the adversity surrounding the sport in the country.

“I can't rate the talent that I have seen here today with what I see internationally because it is still growing. I have, however, seen good freestyle fluid moves and perfect landings. If they continue to practice, they have a future in the sport,’ Paul offered.

The workshop ended with the local athletes competing in a freestyle competition that saw a Noa Diorgina-led judge panel declare Brian Otieno as the overall winner in a hotly contested duel.

Brian, while thanking Red Bull for putting together such a workshop, added that having world champions in the country was a good initiative that would promote the sport in the country as well as push the agenda to build proper infrastructure that would see more youth in the country take up the sport.

Local Parkour coach Adam Hussein at the Dojo Wellness Center in Nairobi where the workshop was organized urged the government to recognize street youth freestyle Parkour enthusiasts and develop the sport to use it as a conduit to pull them off the street.

“When I started doing the sport in the street, people viewed this as a sport for badly behaved youth. Over the years I have grown to where I am as a coach without much support. My journey would have been better if I had full support in the country. This workshop by Red Bull and the presence of international athletes will help raise awareness of the sport and change its image,’ Hussein remarked.

Red Bull has been heavily involved in the sport across the world through its famous Parkour competition dubbed ‘Red Bull Art of Motion’ with the 2022 edition held in Greece where Diorgina scooped the third position overall in the female category.