Twenty-two-year-old Fridah Ndinda, a budding athlete from Mwala in Machakos County, is the winner of the Gold award in the ongoing Tujiamini Initiative in the Eastern and Northern regions, sponsored by SportPesa.
Ndinda is the first female to win the Tujiamini Gold Award with a cash prize of Sh500,000 and other benefits, including training kits and mentorship, in support of her talent towards becoming a top athlete.
The athlete hit the headlines in international sports as the first Kenyan female to emerge second in the 10 km Gqeberha Marathon in South Africa last year.
Speaking Thursday at Machakos Stadium when she was unveiled by Sportspesa, the athlete said her eyes are now set on the 10-kilometer Nairobi City Expressway Marathon, slated for July 7th, and she is also keen on participating in the Diamond League next year, with the intent of securing a slot in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
In 2022, Ndinda qualified for the National 5,000-meter Olympic trials, where she finished eighth. A week later, she ran in the 10 km category in the Nairobi City Marathon and emerged third.
In July of the same year, the athlete also took third place in the Durban 10-kilometer road race and emerged ninth in the single-loop half marathon in October.
Ndinda said the funding will go a long way in supporting her athletic career.
“Some of the challenges I face as an athlete are lack of facilities, training gear, access to a gym, and rubber tracks. The money will help me address some of these issues, especially going to the gym, which has been my biggest challenge,” she said.
Ndinda’s coach, William Korir, expressed his confidence that the funding will prepare her for competitive races for the rest of the year, where she aims to improve her best time and global ranking.
Speaking at the event, SportPesa Representative Deborah Chepkirui said the Tujiamini Initiative was particularly designed for young sportswomen and men at the grassroots, with the intention of supporting promising but unknown talents such as Ndinda’s.
“A lot of people at the grassroots are struggling because they lack the facilities to get to the top-tier levels in their speciality areas. Tujiamini aims to change that by providing them with the necessary support to advance their sporting dreams,” said Chepkirui.
Storm Trentham, the Director, DBA Africa, a sports management agency that has partnered with SportPesa in the Tujiamini Initiative, noted that the programme aims to reach every young talent in the grassroots across the country to identify and empower the next crop of Kenya’s sporting stars.
Trentham noted that Kenya has immense talent but lacks facilities, which make it difficult for young people to fully exploit their talents in sporting activities, hence the need to bridge the gap by supporting upcoming sportsmen and women through initiatives like Tujiamini.
“In order to build talents to elite levels, we need to have academies and sporting programmes at the grassroots, and that is where Tujiamini comes in. The initiative aims to achieve a big impact, whether on an individual basis or within the local community, by keeping individuals engaged in self-development through their talents,” said Trentham.
By Roselyne Kavoo
