NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5 – Kenya is increasingly hopeful it will soon become the second country in Africa to host a Diamond League event after Morocco.
Athletics Kenya (AK) president Jack Tuwei said they are currently negotiating with World Athletics to upgrade the Kip Keino Classic World Continental Tour Gold to a Diamond League meet.
“As we go forward, we also want to upgrade this event because we are now heading towards the fourth edition of the competition. We have applied to World Athletics to upgrade this event to a Diamond League race and things are not looking so terrible…it is being considered. There is only one Diamond League in Africa (Rabat, Morocco) and hopefully the next time we are gathered here, we will be talking about a Diamond League event,” Tuwei said.
The Diamond League is the most prestigious track and field competition among World Athletics’ roster of one-day meets across the world.
A successor to the IAAF Golden League in 2010, the competition brings together the crème-de-la-crème of global athletes and is staged in Oslo, Doha, Shangai, Rome, Eugene, Lausanne, Monaco, London, Zurich, Brussels, Shenzhen, Gateshead, Chorzow, Birmingham, London, New York, Paris, Rabat and Stockholm
The World Continental Tour Gold is the second most lucrative series of one-day meetings, which was launched in 2020 and has thus far been held in various cities, such as Nairobi, Zagreb, Melbourne, Turku, St Georges and Ostrava, among others.
Kenya was one of the first countries in which this competition was held, hosting the first edition of the Kip Keino Classic at the Nyayo Stadium in October 2020, amidst a ravaging Covid-19 pandemic that had forced the cancellation and postponement of major sporting events across the globe.
Reflecting on the growth of the competition over the years, Tuwei noted that the Kip Keino Classic continues to provide many athletes across the continent with opportunities to compete and sharpen themselves.
He expressed his desire to see Africa host more World Continental Tour events whether at gold, silver or bronze levels.
“The Botswana Grand Prix was born out of the Kip Keino Classic. We are happy to see that this event inspires other countries to host other legs of the World Continental Tour across the continent. This is what we need…to see our athletes get as many opportunities as possible to compete and put money in their pockets,” he said.
Tuwei was speaking on Friday morning at Safari Park Hotel during the launch of the fourth edition of the one-day elite athletics meet.
Speaking at the same event, Absa Kenya CEO Abdi Mohammed said the bank remains committed to walking together and growing with the Kip Keino Classic as part of its efforts to inspire millions through sports.
“Sports is empowering and inspiring and that’s why we are excited to work with Athletics Kenya. At Absa Kenya, we are all about Africanacity, which is about finding unique ways to do things despite the challenges,” Mohammed said.
The bank will be the title sponsor for the event for the third year running and has this year pumped Ksh 60 million towards the success of the competition.
