Olympics head optimistic of a good showing in Japan – KBC

Kenya’s Chef De Mission at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan Waithaka Kioni is extremely hopeful that his charges will record excellent performance at the Friday 23 July 2021-Sunday 8 August global sporting extravaganza. 

The volleyball chief who doubles up as the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) vice-president will carry a sense of duty to atone for the country’s sporting image before and during the event following the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics scandal which painted the sports ministry negatively.

With barely a few months remaining to the start of the world competition,86 Kenyan athletes have already sealed their slots with the committee targeting a contingent of at least 100 athletes.

“I am confident that the Kenyan team assembled will deliver in Tokyo. It is a squad comprising of the very best from each discipline hence the reason to believe they would do better in Japan. As Kenyans we have to be proud of our team and always support those boys and girls in every aspect. We will never let them down” he said.

Kenya registered its third best Olympic showing at Rio 2016, earning 15th place overall in the medals table with six gold, six silver and one bronze.

The performance was overshadowed, however, by a kit fiasco as well as misappropriation of funds that eventually landed senior National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) officials Francis Paul and Stephen Soi in court.

However, Kioni now in charge of delegation has previously reiterated that every coin used for the Games would be accounted for to avoid any risk of a repeat of the corruption scandal that marred Brazilian edition.

“As the Chef de Mission, I can assure you that I will not tolerate it and will not allow it to happen. We would not want to tarnish our own reputations and that of NOCK because each one of us in the executive committee has a reputation which we have built over the years and will not want our rich image to be spoilt by one or two people.” he affirmed.

The Government has allowed Kenyan teams to continue with its “bubble” training at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani will continue, following the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

In March this year, NOCK conceded they were facing challenges in running the bubble camp according to international standards due to certain athletes in the camp occasionally forgetting to adhere to Covid-19 protocols, exposing themselves and others to the risk of infection.

Bubble has been lately seen as standard global training area within which competing sports teams stay isolated from the general public during a series of games that includes accommodations, amenities, and the location at which the games are held without spectators in attendance.

This “bubble” was conceived as a way to safely resume playing team sports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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