Yomog Meje
Athletics Kenya (AK) has selected a team of 30 athletes for the second edition of the Africa Youth Games (AYG) to be held in Gaborone, Botswana from May 22-31, 2014.
The Kenyan team, due to depart for Gaborone on May 18, are already in a pre-Games training camp at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium in the capital Nairobi from May 3 to 17.
Athletics Kenya‘s vice president David Okeyo said they want to dominate at the African Youth Games in Gaborone and that they will pick a strong team.
“Athletics will always stand out as one of the disciplines that will bring the country more medals. We will pick a strong team. We have many who have already competed at the World Youth Championships,” Okeyo said.
Kenyan young stars expected to make a statement at the games include World junior 3,000m champion Mercy Chebwogen and Africa Youth 800m champion Robert Biwott.
The African Youth Games – Gaborone 2014 – will serve as a qualifier for the Youth Olympics, which will be held in Nanjing, China later in the year. The international multi-sport event is held every four years to complement the current All-Africa Games.
This will be the second edition of the Africa Youth Games following the inaugural event in Rabat, Morocco, in 2010. The games, designed for athletes aged between 14-18 years, attracted just over 1,000 athletes from 41 countries and regions participating in 16 sport disciplines.
However, Gaborone 2014 will cater for 2,500 young athletes participating in 20 sport disciplines. A total of 131 Kenyan athletes will travel to Gaborone, Botswana with Kenya entering athletes in 20 of the 21 disciplines at the Games, except football.
