Athletics Kenya (AK) is the governing body for the sport of

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

(

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

) in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. It is a member of

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

and

Confederation of African Athletics The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA; French: ''Confédération Africaine d'Athlétisme'') is the continental association for the sport of athletics in Africa. It is headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. It organises the African Championships in ...

. AK organises athletics competitions held in Kenya. It also sends Kenyan teams to international championships. Jackson Tuwei is the current chairman of Athletics Kenya. AK is headquartered in ''Riadha House'', next to

Nyayo National Stadium Nyayo National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. It is located at the square of Mombasa Road, Langata Road and the Aerodrome Road. It is approximately two kilometers from the City Center, directly opposite Nairobi Mega Mall, ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

History

Kenya Amateur Athletics Association

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

(

) in Kenya was governed by an organization known as Kenya Amateur Athletics Association (KAAA) from 1951 until 2002 when the organization changed the name to Athletics Kenya (AK). Archie Evans is credited for starting organized athletics and forming Kenya Amateur Athletics Association (KAAA) in 1951. Evans became the secretary of the newly formed KAAA and Derek Erskine became its first chairman. The association was formed as a requirement in any country wishing to send athletes to international competitions, especially the

British Empire and Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. Following the formation of KAAA, Kenya was represented for the first time in the 5th edition of British Empire and Commonwealth Games in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada in 1954 and subsequent championships. The association changed its name to Athletics Kenya (AK) in 2002, the current governing body of the

sport of athletics Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing sports, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and racewalking ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Athletics Kenya

Kenya is a powerful nation in Athletics, but the talent is limited to long and middle distance running. Famous Kenyan runners typically come from districts like

Keiyo :''Keiyo may also refer to Keiyo, a district in Kenya, ''Keiyo Line'' a railway line in Japan or Elgeyo escarpment'' The Elgeyo (also known as Keiyo) are an ethnic group who are part of the larger Kalenjin ethnic group of Nilotic origin. They l ...

Marakwet :''Marakwet is also a district in Kenya, see Marakwet District'' The Marakwet are one of the groups forming the ethnolinguistic Kalenjin community of Kenya, they speak the Markweta language. The Marakwet live in five territorial sections namely Al ...

and

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...

in western Kenya. Almost all of them represent

Kalenjin Kalenjin may refer to: * Kalenjin people The Kalenjin are a group of tribes designated as Highland Nilotes and are descended from Maliri people ''(thus related to Daasanach of Ethiopia.)'' The Kalenjin are cousins with Datooga people of Tan ...

tribes. Jehoshaphat Kimutai is one of the AKA Legends. Kenyan Championships are held in summer, but separate trials are used to pick athletes for major international championships. Top Kenyan athletes usually attend these events, since those who skip them are likely miss major championships as well. Many leading Kenyan runners mostly compete in Europe, national championships and trials are the only event where local spectators can see them competing. Other competitions organised by AK include series of track and cross-country meetings and number of road races. Kenya hosts three annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

events.

Nairobi Marathon The Nairobi Marathon is an annual road running competition over the marathon distance usually held in October in Nairobi, Kenya. First held in 2003, the competition expanded and now includes a half marathon race along with the main race. It was ...

is the youngest, but is now leading in competitiveness and participation. Others are

Mombasa Marathon The Mombasa International Marathon (formerly known as the Mombasa Marathon) is an annual marathon hosted in Mombasa, Kenya. Currently sponsored by County Government of Mombasa and Safaricom Safaricom PLC is a listed Kenyan mobile network ope ...

and

Great Lake Marathon Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, which is held in

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Kenya by population, third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victor ...

. Additionally, there is a competition known as a

Lewa Marathon The Lewa Safari Marathon is an annual fund raising event held at Lewa Downs, about north of Nairobi, Kenya. The endurance race is sponsored by Safaricom in partnership with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Tusk in order to raise funds for num ...

, which involves races equal to full (42 km) and

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

, but it is a cross-country race and thus cannot be classified as a marathon. Nevertheless, the half marathon event of Lewa Marathon has allured many Kenyan international runner and the event has been won by

Paul Tergat Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

Catherine Ndereba Catherine Nyambura Ndereba (born 21 July 1972) is a Kenyan marathon runner. She has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008. She is ...

and

Joyce Chepchumba Joyce Chepchumba (born 6 November 1970 in Kericho) is a long distance athlete from Kenya. Achievements *1995 ** Tilburg Ten Miles winner ** Parelloop 10Kwinner Arrs.netList of Parelloop winners/ref> *1997 **London Marathon winner *19 ...

in recent years. Many Kenyan runners are affiliated to governmental organisations like

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, Kenya Prisons or

Kenya Police ) , formedyear = 1906 , formedmonthday = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = approx. 101,000= , volunteers = , budget = , country = Kenya , ...

, which provide livelihood as well as training. In addition there are several private athletics clubs, like Mfae (based in

Nyahururu Nyahururu (formerly known as Thomson's Falls) is a town in Kenya, lying north east of Nakuru. The town derives its name from the Maasai people, Maasai word e-naiwurruwurr, meaning waterfall and/or windy or place of storms. It is located in Laikipia ...

) and Kiptenden (based in

Kericho Kericho is the biggest town in Kericho County located in the highlands west of the Kenyan Rift Valley. Standing on the edge of the Mau Forest, Kericho has a warm and temperate climate making it an ideal location for agriculture and in partic ...

). Athletics Kenya operates an Athletics Museum in Riadha House, Nairobi. The museum was opened on November 1, 2006. AK has been awarded the Kenyan Sports Federation of the Year award in 2006 2009 and 2010

National championships

Athletics Kenya is responsible for holding the national championships and selection trials to Olympic and World Championship competitions. * 2015 Athletics Kenya World Championship Trials * 2016 Athletics Kenya Olympic Trials

Chairmen

* Derek Erskine (1951–1964) * Musembi Mbathi (1964–1968) * Bartonjo Rotich (1968–1972) *

Charles Mukora Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(1972–1974) *

Sam Ongeri Ambassador Prof. Hon. Samson Kegengo Ongeri, EGH (born 23 February 1938) is a Kenyan politician. He is the former Senator for Kisii County. Early life Ongeri was born on 23 February 1938, in Gesusu, Nyaribari Masaba. Political life Hon Prof ...

(1974–1984) *

Paul Boit Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

(1984–1992) *

Isaiah Kiplagat Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "th ...

(1992-2015) *

Jackson Tuwei Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

(2015-Present)

Kit suppliers

Kenya's kits are currently supplied by

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

References

Mr. Derek: The racing guru who started amateur athletics in Kenya

Informative site about Kenyan women runners

External links

Kenyan Athlete

Athletics Kenya

Kenyanrunners.com
{{National Members of the International Association of Athletics Federations

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Athletics in Kenya Sports governing bodies in Kenya National governing bodies for athletics Sports organizations established in 1951 1951 establishments in the British Empire

History

Kenya Amateur Athletics Association

Athletics Kenya

National championships

Chairmen

Kit suppliers

See also

References

External links