New sports in 2028 Olympics offer Team Kenya chance to expand
Meeting Miramas Metropole technical director Patrice Ouvrier-Buffet (left) speaks during a press conference on October 10, 2023 to launch the 2024 Meeting Miramas Metropole indoor championship in Miramas, Southern France. Others in the picture are French hurdles legend Stephane Diagana (second right), French pole vaulter Robin Emig (second left) and Miramas Mayor Frederic Vigouroux.
What you need to know:
- National Olympic Committee will immediately include these sports in the youth camps which recently produced great teams for the Youth Commonwealth Games.
When the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session takes place in Mumbai, India next Tuesday, Kenya will be watching with keen interest.
On the agenda will be a proposal by the IOC Executive to include additional sports in the programme of Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Indications are that this will go through. It presents a fresh opportunity for a different crop of athletes to get a chance to represent their country in the Olympics.
Baseball/softball, cricket (T20), flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash are the five sports proposed by Los Angeles 2028, approved by the IOC’s Executive Board and submitted for ratification during the IOC Session in Mumbai.
While these sports are predominantly of American origin and culture, they are all played in Kenya. In fact, in a sport like cricket, Kenya can comfortably say it ranks in the top countries in the continent, with the T20 format becoming popular now.
Kenya was the first associate team in East Africa to feature in the men’s World Cup in 1996, where the likes of Kennedy Obuya scored 96 runs against Australia. With the talent that we currently have, an Olympic spot is possible, with a bit of polishing and a lot of match practices. Now the women’s team is vibrant, the recent notable performance, winning the African Region Division Two Trophy in Gaborone last month.
Kenya Lacrosse Federation (KLF) has started an aggressive campaign to participate in LA 2028, through introducing the sport in schools and universities. It has already established excellence centres in schools like Lenana, where the national team also trains.
Kenya has already made achievement in the sport since it took part in World Lacrosse under-19 girls in Canada in 2019 and under-21 boys in 2022 in Ireland.
Lacrosse enjoys great support from North Africa, KLF has exchange programmes to train our players and build the capacity of our coaches, which should be the approach we take for these upcoming sports. Kenya is rich in talent and athleticism. We can build on this and work in partnerships with the relevant sports organs and developed countries in the respective sports to instil the skills.
We are excited about these additions. All the proposed sports besides squash can easily be played at existing facilities in schools. It means that collaboration of the respective bodies with Schools Sports Association can very quickly create a wide base of talent from which the outstanding youngsters can be put on a fast-track training and development with a clear five-year strategic approach.
National Olympic Committee will immediately include these sports in the youth camps which recently produced great teams for the Youth Commonwealth Games.
Mutuku is the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya.
