NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 6 – With less than 10 days before the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani hosts the World Athletics Under-20 Championships, event patron First Lady Margaret Kenyatta on Friday officially launched the Mascot as well as medals for the biennial competition.
The Championships were initially set to be staged last year but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking to Kenyan journalists in Tokyo on Thursday, World Athletics boss Seb Coe had stated that he was keen to see the event staged in Kenya.
And with just days to the global showpiece which will attract over 150 countries, the First Lady set the ball rolling with the unveiling of the medals.
The gold, silver and bronze have been designed in partnership with Ushanga Kenya, with the robes around the medals set to be glazed in beads, akin to the famous Maasai ngarewa worn by women to denote beauty and confidence.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta admires the medals for the World Under-20Championships. PHOTO
“The women from Ushanga initiative have drawn the inspiration of these medals form the cultural heritage of the Maasai people and the symbolic ngarewa complements the resilience of our young athletes to be world beaters,” First Lady Kenyatta said.
Mrs Kenyatta was full of praise of the Local Organizing Committee and Athletics Kenya for the work they have put in to ensure the Championship is held in the face of the ever evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I want to thank everyone for their dedication and commitment to see this event take place. I am proud to be the patron of this event which underscores the rich talent that abounds in our youth. It will provide a chance to showcase Kenya as a centre of sporting excellence. We proved that we can do it when we hosted the Under-18 and now we won the bid for this event,” said Mrs Kenyatta.
Sports PS Joe Okudo, representing CS Amina Mohamed has said that Kenya will be ready to successfully host the event especially with the challenges expected out of the COVID-19 situation.
“We want to follow the lessons we have picked from the Tokyo Olympics especially regarding COVID. We want to ensure that no one leaves this country infected and we are working to ensure that we will have life as normal in this abnormal world,” said Okudo.
Jabari the Lion; Teh World Under-20 Championships Mascot. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
The Mascot for the Championships will be Jabari the Lion while a rendition of Musician Nyashinski’s Kipchoge song, re-mixed to Keep Jogging will be the theme song.
“The song is all about mental wellness and just urging people that despite the challenges we face time to time, there is always a chance to move on. Our mascot denotes our brave, fearless and strong athletes and the spirit to ensure that we remain a massive sporting nation,” LOC CEO Mike Rabar said.
The Championship will gun off on August 17 with teams expected to start arriving in the country from next week.
