In February last year, a delegation from the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) visited Miramas with a view to signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would allow Kenyan athletes prepare for the Paris Olympics in the Southern France city.
Subsequently, last December, a delegation from Miramas visited Kenya on a reciprocal tour that finalised the arrangements which opened the doors for Kenyan athletes to take advantage of the state-of-the-art sports facilities and technical support in the Marseille Region in the build-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics and other competitions.
And on February 3 this year, NOC-K President Paul Tergat eventually signed the MoU with the French hosts at a ceremony held at the Stadium Miramas Metropole.
Present was the President of the Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Council and the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis Martine Vassal, the Mayor of Miramas Frederic Vigouroux and French Athletics Federation President André Giraud besides the Kenyan delegation that included NOC-K Secretary General, Francis Mutuku, Treasurer, Eliud Kariuki and Kenya’s Ambassador to France, Judi Wakhungu.
Kenya’s Africa 100 metres record holder Ferdinand Omanyala trains in Miramas, France, on July 24 under the watchful eye of his coach Marcel Viljoen as part of his build-up to the World Athletics Championships and 2024 Olympic Games. Miramas will also host Team Kenya’s training camp for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Photo credit: Pool
Africa 100 metres record holder Ferdinand Omanyala is among the early beneficiaries of the Miramas facilities where he has returned to pitch camp since last Friday’s maiden Diamond League win in Monaco.
Miramas is a sleepy territory of Southern France’s Alpes-Cote d’zur region and boasts 34 sports venues sanctioned by Paris 2024 organisers as “Games preparation centres.”
Kenya’s Africa 100 metres record holder Ferdinand Omanyala trains in Miramas, France, on July 24 under the watchful eye of his coach Marcel Viljoen as part of his build-up to the World Athletics Championships and 2024 Olympic Games. Miramas will also host Team Kenya’s training camp for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Photo credit: Pool
With a population of just 27,000, Miramas, which is close by the Mediterranean coast, offers ideal conditions for elite training with little or no interference or distraction.
There’s the option between a 91 Euro (Sh14,000) three-hour-44-minute train ride from Paris Gare Lyon station to Avignon Centre and a 58-minute drive to Miramas, or the more expensive choice of a 160 Euros (Sh25,000) direct train from Paris to Miramas.
The city of Miramas has invested about Sh26 million to welcome Team Kenya ahead of Paris 2024.
Some of the facilities at the Allotel Hotel in Miramas, Southern France, where Kenya’s team to the 2024 Paris Olympics will pitch camp.
Photo credit: Elias Makori | Nation Media Group
The eco-friendly Allotel group of hotels in Miramas will provide the Kenyan accommodation hub with choices between traditional hotel rooms, villas and apartments.
“I’m very happy to welcome Team Kenya for the Olympic Games. This (partnership) journey started eight years ago,” Patrice Ouvrier-Buffet, head of the Miramas Kenyan Olympic project told Nation Sport in Miramas recently.
“We have already hosted Kenyan junior athletes and are currently hosting Ferdinand Omanyala as he prepares for the World Championships.
“In the middle of September, other Kenyan athletes will come for tae kwondo, boxing and three-on-three basketball training.”
Some of the facilities at the Allotel Hotel in Miramas, Southern France, where Kenya’s team to the 2024 Paris Olympics will pitch camp.
Photo credit: Elias Makori | Nation Media Group
Elite Kenyan athlete Daniel Chirchir, currently a resident of Miramas having retired from running at the Athletic Club Miramas, has been an important link between Kenya and Miramas, doing the groundwork for Kenyan teams visiting the city.
“Miramas is now a home for Kenyan athletes,” Chirchir, who was mentored in his career by NOC-K President Tergat and who has since taken up French citizenship, says.
“I’m really thankful to my mentor Tergat who made me the athlete I became, and I also appreciate Athletics Kenya and NOC-K for the co-operation with Miramas.”
The national women’s volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, is also expected to set up a training camp in Miramas from next week.
The top leadership in Miramas has been fully involved in Team Kenya’s camp.
“We started this journey eight years ago. It was first athletes from Kenya, like Daniel Chirchir Paul Koech who joined the Athletic Club Miramas and quickly developed family ties with the people of Miramas,” Miramas’ Deputy Mayor (in charge of sports) Eric Marchesi told Nation Sport in Miramas.
Athletic Club Miramas are also the organisers of the Elite de Miramas indoor track meeting where Omanyala is now a popular figure after posting an indoor 60 metres personal best time of 6.65 seconds in the preliminaries which he lowered to 6.63, a national record, in the final in February.
Meanwhile, Tergat is now a regular visitor to Miramas which he considers his second home.
“As NOC-K, we realized that the Paris 2024 Olympics will be hosted under hot conditions and so we had to look for pre-Games training camps where our sportsmen could be exposed to, and adapt to the Olympic weather conditions,” Tergat explains.
“Miramas is the best place! Apart from the high-level facilities, the hospitality of the people here is very welcoming.”
Tergat, a double Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000 metres and a former world marathon record holder, appealed to the government and sponsors to come in early and boost Team Kenya’s build-up to Paris 2024.
“Last-minute preparations and release of funds have cost us dearly in the past,” he said.
As Paris today marks 365 days to the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games, the City of Miramas will also be celebrating their now solid relationship with Team Kenya.
