Three of our young athletes were selected to take part in the U20 World Athletic Championships that took place in Nairobi from 17th to 22nd August this year.
The preparation for this World Championship for under 20-year olds started early in June when six athletes from the YES Elites and Kids teams participated in the qualifying trial held in Iten/Eldoret, Kenya. They ran very well during this qualifying trial where they met and competed with other athletes from different parts of Kenya.
After the qualifying trial, YES athletes continued their training on site in Kakuma/Kalobeyei under the leadership of their head coach and assistant coach. After having invested so much in their training Morris Joseph Loboi, Samuel Alice Ilam, and Napeyok Emmaculate qualified to participate in the U20 World Athletics Championships. They were very happy to have qualified for this international event and they aimed to keep the YES flag high.
Ahead of the World Athletic Championships, our young athletes had 2 weeks of high altitude acclimatization training in Ngong assisted by their Coach and Assistant Coach. This 2-week training in Ngong helped them improve their performance before they joined the competition. The competition started on the 17th of August with athletes coming from different corners of the world. Youth Education and Sports athletes made up the Athlete Refugee Team and were more than ever determined to compete with the world’s best.
The competition went on well, no one dropped out of the race and no one was disqualified. All of them finished their respective races – 200 m Women, 800 m Women, 3000 m Men. Although they did not come close to a gold medal, they returned with great experiences that we consider to be equivalent to gold. They are ready to share their experience with their team-mates on the YES Kakuma/Kalobeyei running team and with their classmates. They will continue their training so that they can shave off seconds or even a minute of their time over the next few months.
Congratulations again to them for taking part in the competition as the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team.
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