Sport in Kenya


Sport is an important element of Kenyan culture. Various indigenous traditional sports have prevailed in Kenyan culture from its earliest history. Some of the traditional games and sports prevalent in Kenya since antiquity have included wrestling, racing exercises, stick fights, hunting, board games, bull fights and dances.
Most modern sports in Kenya started during British colonisation. Professional teams in form of clubs were organised by colonial British settlers and Asian contractors as early as 1922, before the establishment of formal schools. Sports were introduced in schools in 1925. The syllabus for teaching sport through physical training in schools was produced in 1935. Football and athletics respectively were the first sports to be professionally organized.
Today, many sports are popular in Kenya, played both professionally and as recreational physical activities. The most popular sport in Kenya is football. Sports played in Kenya today include athletics, cricket, field hockey, motor sports, Association football, rugby union, volleyball, basketball, swimming and diving, team handball, netball, rounders, baseball, shooting, softball, bicycling, martial arts, Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, Squash, Badminton, Golf, Canoeing, Chess, Goal Ball, Horse Riding/Equestrianism, Polo, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Archery, Roller Sports, Ice Hockey and Mountain Sports – Kenya.
Globally, Kenya is mainly known for its dominance in middle-distance and long-distance races.

Athletics (track & field and running events)

Athletics was one of the two modern sports to be formally organized in Kenya. Kenya has regularly produced Olympic and Commonwealth Games champions in various distance events, especially in 800 m, 1,500 m, 3,000 m steeplechase, 5,000 m, 10,000 m and the marathons. Kenyan athletes continue to dominate the world of distance running, although competition from Morocco and Ethiopia has reduced this supremacy. Kenya's best-known athletes included the four-time women's Boston Marathon winner and two-time world champion Catherine Ndereba, former Marathon world record-holder Paul Tergat, and John Ngugi. The question of why Kenyans are so dominant in distance running has given rise to various explanations involving topography, or bone structure, or diet.

Track events

Retired Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion Kipchoge Keino helped usher in Kenya's ongoing distance dynasty 1970s and was followed by Commonwealth Champion Henry Rono's string of world record performances.
Kenya won several medals during the Beijing Olympics, 6 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze, making it Africa's most successful Nation in the 2008 Olympics. New athletes gained attention, such as Pamela Jelimo, the women's 800m gold medalist who went ahead to win the Golden League jackpot, and Samuel Wanjiru who won the men's marathon.

Field events

became the first Kenyan field athlete to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games when he won the javelin title at the 2014 event in Glasgow. The following year he took Kenya's first World Championship gold in the field at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, where he set a new Commonwealth record of 92.72m on his way to victory.

Cross country

Kenyan runners have dominated the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in the past quarter century, maintaining with Ethiopia a stranglehold on the event; from 1986 to 2011, the last year the race was held annually, the Kenyan men's team won 24 world championships, including 18 in a row until Ethiopia won in 2004–05. The junior men's team won 23 titles since 1988, and the women's team has won four straight since 2009. Kenya's junior women have won 15 world championships. Five times – in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 2010 – Kenya had the champions in the men's and women's senior and junior races.
Only three Kenyan men have won individual world cross country titles in the men's division, and two of them won multiple crowns. John Ngugi became the first man to win the world championship five times. Countryman Paul Tergat became the first man to win five times in a row. Edith Masai won the 4-kilometer women's short race three consecutive times.

Marathons

Runners from Kenya have run seven of the 10 fastest times for 26.2 miles. They have also been among the most consistent winners in the World Marathon Majors: Boston, New York, London, Berlin, Chicago and Tokyo. An unusual number of marathon winners are Kalenjin.

Boston Marathon

won the first of his three Boston Marathon victories in 1988, less than a year after winning the New York City Marathon. Hussein would have back-to-back victories at Boston in 1991–92. Kenyan men broke the tape at the Boston Marathon 20 times since 1988, including 10 times in a row from 1991 to 2000. Kenyan women have 10 victories at Boston, four of them by one woman. The notable winners:
Hussein's win in the New York City Marathon in the fall of 1987 was the first by a runner of African descent in the event. Three years later, Douglas Wakiihuri won the race that begins in Staten Island and goes through Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, ending in Manhattan's Central Park. Kenyan men won the race eight more times, and Kenyan women six in the open division. Among them:
  • John Kagwe, winner of back-to-back titles ;
  • Tegla Loroupe, who won in 1994 and repeated as champion the following year;
  • Martin Lel, whose victories in New York came four years apart ;
  • Geoffrey Mutai, the fastest marathoner ever, who set a course record in winning the 2011 race;
  • Margaret Okayo, whose victories in 2001 and 2003 were course records.

    London Marathon

Douglas Wakiihuri won the race in 1989; it would be 15 years before another Kenyan, Evans Rutto, won in London. Martin Lel has three victories in the event and set a course record of 2:05:15 in 2008. Mary Keitany won back to back titles in 2011–12.

Chicago Marathon

The Chicago Marathon was first held in 1977. Runners from Kenya have won the men's open division 12 times, including nine in a row from 2003 to 2011.
  • Evans Rutto and the late Samuel Wanjiru repeated as champions during that period.
  • Joyce Chepchumba won consecutive titles in the women's open division; Catherine Ndereba won in 2000 and repeated in 2001 with a world women's record.

    Berlin Marathon

Kenyan men have won the past three Berlin Marathon races and 12 overall, including seven victories in a row from 1999 to 2005. Patrick Makau Musyoki won in consecutive years in 2010 and 2011, the latter in a world-record time of 2:03:38.

Tokyo Marathon

The newest of the World Marathon Majors, the first Tokyo Marathon was held in 2007. Daniel Njenga won the inaugural race in 2:09:45. Kenyan runners have won the race four times, including the 2013 champion Dennis Kimetto, who set a course record.

Olympic games

Samuel Wanjiru became the first Kenyan to become an Olympic champion in the marathon when he ran an Olympic Games record 2:06:32 to win the gold medal in Beijing in 2008.
  • Douglas Wakiihuri would win the country's first marathon medal, a silver at the 1988 games in Seoul. Erick Wainaina won two medals, a bronze at the 1996 games in Atlanta and a silver at the 2000 games in Sydney.
  • Catherine Ndereba would win consecutive silver medals in the women's marathon, in Athens and Beijing.

    Change of nationality

Lately, there has been controversy in Kenyan athletics circles, with the defection of a number of Kenyan athletes to represent other countries, chiefly Bahrain and Qatar. The Kenyan Ministry of Sports has tried to stop the defections, but they have continued anyway, with Bernard Lagat the latest, choosing to represent the United States. Most of these defections occur because of economic or financial factors however some elite Kenyan runners who cannot qualify for their country's strong national team also find it easier to qualify by running for other countries.

Ball sports

Association football

is a popular spectator sport in Kenya. Kenya was a regional power in football, but its dominance has been eroded by wrangles within the Kenya Football Federation. This led to a suspension by FIFA which was lifted in March, 2007. Football in Kenya is currently controlled by the Football Kenya Federation.
Kombii Betty Nanjalah one of the founders of Mathere Youth Sports Association – Kenya, First trip to Norway in 1991, with a group of 16 players who were from the streets of Nairobi. Trained as Football Referee.

Rugby union

Kenya is making a name for itself in rugby union. It is popular in Kenya especially with the annual Safari Sevens tournament. Kenya sevens team ranked 9th in IRB Sevens World Series for the 2006 season.
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Kenya has also been a dominant force in ladies' volleyball within Africa, with Kenyan clubs winning 13 African Championships, and the national team leading the continental championship with 9 titles since 1991. The women's team has also competed at the Olympics and World Championships but without any notable success.