The 21st edition of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships, which begins on Wednesday in Eugene, United States, presents yet another opportunity to discover Kenya’s future athletics stars.
Kenya will field a team of 23 athletes — 12 men and 11 women — at the championships, which end on Sunday. The country will be seeking to improve on its performance at the 2024 edition in Lima, Peru.
As always, this is an ideal opportunity for Athletics Kenya and the technical officials accompanying the team to instil in these young athletes the values of mental resilience, discipline, a strong work ethic and the right attitude.
The team is also aware of the challenges posed by doping and age cheating. This is the right stage to reinforce the importance of fairness, honesty and integrity, and to remind the athletes that lasting success comes through hard work, not shortcuts.
As the global junior championships get under way, Kenyans will also be reflecting on the Commonwealth Games, which ended yesterday. The country won 12 medals — three gold, four silver and five bronze — with all but one, a weightlifting bronze, coming from athletics.
The overall performance marked a decline from previous editions, underscoring the need to nurture the next generation of athletes. With seasoned competitors such as javelin thrower Julius Yego nearing the end of their careers, the spotlight must now shift to emerging talents like those competing in Eugene.
It is encouraging that javelin thrower Irene Jepkemboi and race walker Stephen Ndangiri, who made history at the Commonwealth Games, both emerged through Athletics Kenya’s junior development programmes held during school holidays.
The government, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) and sports federations must continue investing in youth development.