Olympics bubble camp to continue at Kasarani

The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) won’t shut down Team Kenya’s bubble training at Kasarani Stadium even as Covid-19 continues to ravage the country.

The camp which kicked off last month has 32 track and field athletes, six taekwondo players, women’s national volleyball team Malkia Strikers and both the men and women rugby sevens teams who are set to rejoin the camp after competing at the Emirates Invitational Tournament in Dubai.

The national boxing team ‘Hit Squad’ who recently competed at the Africa Zone 3 Championships at the DRC are also set to join the camp.

Despite the government’s ban on all sporting activities in the country, Team Kenya General Team Manager for Tokyo Olympics Barnaba Korir said the teams that have already reported to camp will continue training under strict Covid-19 protocols.

“At the moment the camp is still on and despite a few challenges the government and NOC-K are working to ensure that the teams will have all the support they require. We are also ensuring that there are minimal interruptions both at the Kenyatta University and Kasarani because we have to follow the government’s directives on the curbing the spread of the virus,” said Korir.

At least 90 Kenyan athletes have already qualified for the Games that are scheduled for July 23- August 8 in Tokyo, Japan.

Meanwhile, Korir has also Athletics Kenya is still awaiting green light from the government to host the trials for the World Relays Championships slated for May 1-2 in Silesia, Poland.

“We have requested the government if they can allow us to have trials to select our team for the World Relays. The good thing is that most of the sprinters are already in camp at Kasarani. We were also planning to have at least two foreign countries to help our 4x400m teams qualify for the championships,” he said.