Athletics Kenya

Athletics Kenya (AK) is the body governing Athletics in Kenya. It was known as Kenya Amateur Athletics Association (KAAA) until 2002. The federation was founded in colonial Kenya in 1952 by the late Sir Derek Erskine. Athletics Kenya is a member of the IAAF and Confederation of African Athletics. AK organises athletics competitions held in Kenya. It also sends Kenyan teams to international championships. Isaiah Kiplagat is the current chairman of Athletics Kenya. AK is headquartered in "Riadha House", next to Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi.

Kenya is a powerful nation in Athletics, but the talent is limited to long and middle distance running. Famous Kenyan runners typically come from districts like Keiyo, Marakwet and Nandi in western Kenya. Almost all of them represent Kalenjin tribes. The first major international tournament where Kenya participated was the 1954 Commonwealth Games, in Cardiff, but Kenya did not win any medals.

Kenyan Championships, held in summer, are used to pick athletes for major international championships. Top Kenyan athletes usually attend the event, since those who skip it are likely miss major championships as well. Since Kenyan runners mostly compete in Europe, national championships is the only event where local spectators can see them competing.

Other competitions organised by AK include series of track and cross-country meetings and number of road races.

Kenya hosts three annual marathon events. Nairobi Marathon is the youngest, but is now leading in competitivity and participation. Others are Mombasa Marathon and Great Lake Marathon, which is held in Kisumu. Additionally, there is a competition known as a Lewa Marathon, which involves races equal to full (42 km) and half marathon, but it is a cross-country race and thus cannot be classified as a marathon. Nevertheless, the half marathon event of Lewa Marathon has allured many Kenyan international runner and the event has been won by Paul Tergat, Catherine Ndereba and Joyce Chepchumba in recent years.

Many Kenyan runners affiliate themselves with governmental organisations like Army, Prisons or Police, which provide livelihood as well as quality training. In addition there are several deserving private athetics clubs, like Mfae (based in Nyahururu) and Kiptenden (based in Kericho).

Athletics Kenya operates an Athletics Museum in Riadha House, Nairobi. The museum was opened on November 1, 2006 [http://www.timesnews.co.ke/02nov06/sports/sports2.html] .

AK was awarded the 2006 Kenyan Sports Federation of the Year award [The Standard February 23, 2007 [http://eastandard.net/hm_news/news_s.php?articleid=1143965206 "Kipchirchir, Jepkosgei named Soya winners"] ] .

References

* [http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news_s.php?articleid=1143958943 Sir Derek: The racing guru who started amateur athletics in Kenya]
* [http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/kenya/ Informative site about Kenyan women runners]

External links

* [http://www.athleticskenya.org/ Athletics Kenya]
* [http://www.athleticskenya.com/Athletics%20Kenya%20Museum.htm Athletics Kenya Museum]
* [http://www.gbrathletics.com/nc/ken.htm List of Kenyan Championships winners]
* [http://www.kenyarunners.com Kenyanrunners.com]