After close to a month of a rigorous residential training camp in Nairobi, the first batch of Team Kenya athletes leaves on Tuesday evening for the 2025 Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo.
The quadrennial multi-sport championships, which involve deaf athletes, will run from Tokyo from November 15 to 26.
On Monday, Team Kenya’s Chief Executive Officer, Duncan Kuria, told Nation Sport that the first batch of the 180-member contingent will depart for Tokyo on Tuesday (November 11) evening. The second batch will leave on Wednesday (November 12), followed by the final batch on Thursday (November 13).
This year, the Deaflympics, which will run for two weeks, will mark the 100th anniversary of the first competition held in Paris in 1924. For Kenya, it will be its eighth appearance at the Games since making its debut at the 1997 edition in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Kuria said Team Kenya athletes have finalised their preparations for the competition, and said the delegation can look forward to a memorable experience in Tokyo.
“Our team is ready and we are very anxious to land in Japan and see that we post better results than we did last time in Brazil (2022),” the retired boxer told journalists on Sunday at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
“We hope our athletes can acclimatise fast when they reach Tokyo. In terms of competition, we are up to the task. We will challenge the rest of the world and win as many medals as possible,” he added.
The competition will attract approximately 6000 participants from around the world, including athletes and officials. The Kenyan delegation includes athletes, team officials, interpreters and medics.
While 21 disciplines will be contested at the Tokyo Deaflympics, Kenya will only take part in five disciplines - athletics, women’s basketball, men’s handball, golf and swimming. Initially, Kenya planned to compete in 12 disciplines, but seven teams were dropped due to budget constraints. The teams that were dropped are women’s football, bowling, badminton, tennis, table tennis, cycling and women’s volleyball.
Team Kenya has been in a residential camp at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi since October 19.
Kenya has maintained a strong performance in the Deaflympics with its 24-medal haul in Brazil remaining the country’s best-ever performance in the Games. Previously, in the 2017 Summer Deaflympics held in Samsun, Turkey, Kenya were top in Africa and ninth globally with 16 medals (five gold, five silver, and six bronze).
To ensure that the athletes' performance is not affected by lack of a suitable meal, Kuria said plans are in place to carry maize flour so that the team can prepare ugali during the duration of the competition.
“We are making arrangements to ensure that we carry some maize flour so that when we get to Tokyo, we can have them eating their favourite meal if that is what will enable them to win medals. As leaders in the team, we are ready to give them what they want and ensure that they don’t have an excuse for not winning medals,” said the CEO.
He assured that the athletes will receive their local allowances before departing the country, while the international allowances will be disbursed once they arrive in Tokyo.
