Kilifi youngsters walking in the footsteps of legendary athlete Seraphine Antao

It may have been overshadowed in recent times by other areas that have produced star athletes, but the coast region of Kenya holds a special place in the country’s athletics history.

Mombasa is home to Seraphine Antao, runner of Goan descent, who became the first Kenyan to win a gold medal at an international athletics competition in 1962.

Antao not only won gold for Kenya in the old distance of 110 yards (approximately 100 metres) and the 220 yards (approximately 200m) at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia, but he was also part of Kenya’s 4x400 yards relay quartet that finished fifth at the championship.

The other members of Kenya’s relay team at the championship were Wilson Kiprugut Chumo, Kimaru Songok, and Peter Francis.

Born on October 30, 1937 in Goa, southwestern coast of India, Antao grew up in Mombasa, and attended Goan High School (now Mombasa High School), and excelled in school championships.

A good runner and footballer, Antao thrived under the guidance of Ray Batchelor, an English athletics and football coach.

Both Batchelor and Antao went on to make history for Kenya in contrasting ways. Antao became the first Kenyan runner to win gold medal in an international competition at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, while Batchelor became the first coach of Kenya’s football team, but the Englishman is most remembered for infamously leading Kenya to the biggest loss in any match, a 13-0 hiding in the hands of Ghana’s Black Stars in 1965, but that is story for another day.

Antao also competed at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, but two years later at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, he reached the semi-finals of men’s 100m race, and the second round of the 200m.

Antao died on September 6, 2011 in the United Kingdom.

Inspired by tales of Antao’s success, and a wave of popularity that Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala has brought to sprint races, some 36 young athletes (12 girls and 24 boys) from the coast region are determined to reach dizzying heights in athletics.

Last December, the 36 youngsters spent two weeks at Kijiwetanga Primary School in Malindi, Kilifi County, sharpening their skills in sprint races under the watchful eyes of coaches.

Kijiwetanga Primary School hosted one of the 56 holiday training camps organised by the Sports ministry in coordination with Athletics Kenya.

Riding on its location at low altitude, Kijiwetanga Primary School offered the aspiring sprinters ideal training conditions. The youngsters, who had stood out in school championships last year, were tracked down by coaches and put in the camp to train in distances ranging from the 100m to 1,500m.

The camp has ended, but aspiring athletes, coaches, athletics administrators from the region believe that the coast region can produce more athletics stars like Antao, given modern training facilities, investment in coaching personnel, and proper talent identification strategies.

Isaiya Wanje, a student at Kijiwetanga High School who finished seventh in boys’ 100m race at the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association national championships held in Machakos attended the camp along with 100m runner Loise Kambi from Shomani Girls High School in Malindi County, and 200m runner Lilian Mapenzi from Ramada High School in Kilifi.

Others are Joshua Edward, a Form Two Student at Jilore High School in Kilifi (200m), Peter Nguma, a Form Two Student at Maiyowe High School in Kilifi (200m), Kitsao Maitha, a Form Two Student at Makobeni High School in Malindi, Thomas Karisa, a Grade Eight Pupil in Mary Hill Junior School in Kilifi (100m/200m), and Pato Kandoya, a Form Two Student at Ramada Secondary School in Kilifi (100m).

Wanje believes the training camp is what he needed to take his game to the next level.

“We came here to learn various things so that as we go back to school, we implement them and run faster. Sprint races last only and I believe that with the support we have received, we will develop champions at the coast region,” Wanje, who was the captain at the camp, said.

Dinah Anyango, a retired athlete who coached the youngsters, hopes the youngsters will now make better use of the athletics track at Mbaraki Sports Club in Mombasa to have a feel of the starting blocks for a more professional feel.

“In the past, athletes from the coast were disadvantaged at the national championships because we didn’t have training facilities such as starting blocks. They struggled to compete in Nairobi at the national championships but the completion of the athletics track at Mbaraki Sports Club gives us hope of better performance in national events,” said Anyango.

Kijiwetanga High School training camp is the brainchild of Kilifi County Athletics Kenya Chairman Joshua Malingi. In 2018, he started the camp to keep young sprinters busy during school holiday. It was not easy at the start, given that football is the most popular sport among youngsters from the region.

“After finishing primary or secondary school studies, the athletes would engage in unproductive activities that would eventually ruin their lives, and there was a need to bring them together. We started by inviting coaches to give them tips in the sprints. 

Malingi hopes to see youth from the region compete in the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, with an eye on 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA.

“We are happy because the national office, and the government has supported the initiative. We hope to see increased participation by athletes from the coast region at the national level and beyond,” said Malingi.

Athletics Kenya Youth Development Director Barnaba Korir said that Kenya has great potential in various fields of competitions, and athletes from the coast region can do better in sprints and field events.

"The training camp at the coast region attracted many juniors, showing that youngsters are interested in pursuing athletics as career. In collaboration with the government, we want to invest in them because they are the future of athletics," said Korir. 

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