Athletes have called on the government to urgently complete the refurbishment of Kamariny Stadium in Iten to enable them have training ground.
Athletic Kenya (AK) Deputy President Paul Mutisya said it was sad that Elgeyo Marakwet is the home of champions and a place where athletes from all over the world prefer to train but there is no standard facility for training.
Speaking in Iten, Mutisya said lack of training facilities has killed the dream of many upcoming athletes who cannot afford transport daily to the university of Eldoret in neighbouring Uasin Gishu county, the nearest currently available public training ground.
“For the elite athletes they can afford to use private facilities but it becomes quite a challenge for upcoming athletes who rely on public facilities to train,” said Mutisya.
Speaking at the same occasion, various athletes lamented that when the refurbishment of Kamariny Stadium started, they were not given an alternative facility to use as the works continue.
“Now that the works have stalled, we have been left on our own with most of us being forced to run along the road as we train,” said one of the athletes.
The athletes said before the refurbishment works started, they were using the stadium even as it needed refurbishment but as it is at the moment, it is completely unusable.
The stadium was set to be refurbished by Sports Kenya at a cost of Sh287 million. The works which were to take eight months were set to start in February 2017 and included the construction of a tartan track and a pavilion among others.
Coach Ken Kibet had called for the construction of a mud track so that training can go on uninterrupted as the works continue.
However, the contract for construction of the stadium was terminated in January this year for failing to meet the contract deadline and a new contract is yet to be awarded.
By Alice Wanjiru
