President Uhuru Kenyatta with the Kenyan under 18 team, which represented the country during the IAAF World Under-18 Championships. [Photo/ PSCU]
By PSCU
President Uhuru Kenyatta today feted the Kenyan team to the just concluded International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Under-18 Championships that was held in Nairobi.
President Kenyatta congratulated the team, saying the young athletes have made Kenya proud.
“You have made our country proud. That week of the IAAF Championships put Kenya on the map as the event brought together teams from across the globe. You have Marketed our country. The number of people who turned out to watch the event tells about what you did for the country,” President Kenyatta said.
The Head of State spoke at State House, Nairobi, when he received back the national flag from the team.
The Kenyan team won 15 medals: four gold, seven silver and four bronze, coming fourth behind South Africa, China and Cuba which took first, second and third positions respectively.
President Kenyatta also commended Kenyan officials and organizers for making the global event successful, saying they proved to the world that Kenya is capable of hosting international championships.
“This shows that Kenya can host major sporting events. We are the home of athletics. We are the home of champions. From the feedback I have received from participants from different parts of the world, they marveled at our organizational capacity,” President Kenyatta said.
The President assured that his administration will continue supporting sports to ensure the youth benefit from their talents.
Sports, Culture and Arts Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario said adoption of the camp system where the youth athletes resided in camps helped to improve their performance.