Excitement growing for World Cross Country Championships
What you need to know:
- Team Kenya is currently in camp at Kigari Teachers Training College.
- Our Ugandan brothers are not also to be taken lightly considering they will be seeking to prove a point to their home fans.
Uganda here we come! You heard me right, we are on our way to Kampala in droves and this being athletics, and to be specific, World Cross Country Championships it won’t be business as usual.
For us, it is time to reap big and yes, this is our time to rule. We have everything right for us and winning will be the name of the game. This being closer home, the weather, the fans and terrain will be right for us and we have nothing to worry about. To ensure the mood is very much Kenyan, we have organised buses to ferry people across to cheer the Kenyan team.
The project, led by Nation Media Group's Sports Managing Editor Elias Makori, is gaining popularity by the day and we can’t wait to be at the Kololo grounds in Kampala, the venue for the event.
We , however, urge more sponsors to come on board and ensure, for once, Kenyans take over Kampala.
Team Kenya, currently in camp at Kigari Teachers Training College, led by the captain Leonard Komon and Faith Chepng’etich, is equally psyched up for the biennial global show, leaving no doubt about our intentions.
But as much as we are ready, we must guard against becoming complacent because we don’t know what our opponents are planning. Ethiopians, especially still remember what happened to them in Mombasa in 2007 and will not want to repeat their mistakes. It was in Mombasa that Kenenisa Bekele failed to win his fifth senior men’s title after doing it four years in a row.
Our Ugandan brothers are not also to be taken lightly considering they will be seeking to prove a point to their home fans.
In any case, most of them train in Iten with some of our athletes and will have learnt a trick or two as they chase after bragging rights. Also to watch for will be the Bahrainis, who are known in athletics circles as Kenya “B”. The next fortnight will be very crucial for the Kenyan team if they have to once again prove to the world that they are still the “Kings of the Jungle”.
Finally, officials will also have to play their roles efficiently if they are to boost the morale of the team. The technical bench is always key for any team to perform and I hope we will all get it right. I have started packing as I prepared to lead my own bus to Kampala. See you there.
