Obiri joins calls for Gusii Stadium to be built fast

Olympics silver medallist and former World Indoor champion Hellen Obiri has added her voice to calls for construction works of the Gusii Stadium to be expedited to give athletes from the talent-rich region an opportunity to host competitions.

The mother of one who celebrated her 27th birthday on Tuesday told Citizen Digital lack of the facility that is still under renovation had denied local athletes a chance to showcase their talent.

Her sentiments come a barely a day after a section of athletes from the are led by sprinter Mike Mokamba and Justine Omae vowed to call for demonstrations to stop the construction of the stadium by the current contractor claiming he lacks experience to put up a facility to world governing body IAAF standards.

“In the entire Gusii region, we don’t have a suitable stadium for training work outs and speed work. I can’t say it will be up to standard and for sure it has taken long and they need to consult experts to come with a proper facility.

“In the athletics calendar, Athletics Kenya gives regions an opportunity to host local championships but we are likely to miss such opportunities,” the women 5000m Olympic silver winner and 3000m World Indoor winner in 2012 lamented.

She recalled the days gone by when athletes from different regions used to train at Gusii but could no local do so after the facility was left derelict.

“People used to come all the way from Sotik to practice but nowadays there no place to work out and I have to travel to Nairobi,” Obiri added.

She urged Gusii Governor James Ongwae to fulfil the promise he made during her grand homecoming ceremony in Nyangusu Stadium to establish a training camp in the region.

Earlier, Mokamba and Omae fired notice at the County administration to halt the construction works at the famous stadium until a contractor who can build a facility up to IAAF standards can be sourced.

“We are always ranked in the fifth position nationally when the sports calendar is out but now the pitch is horrible and it can’t be compared to the Kisii University playground. Let the construction be stopped until proper measures are taken into consideration,” Mokamba told Citizen Digital.

The construction works of the stadium have come under heavy criticism from sports persons and members of the public with the County leadership aiming at having a stadium that can be shared by football and athletics.