The Kenyan Parliament has urged the Government, through the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Sports and Arts, to develop a policy and standardized sports reward scheme for recognizing the achievements made by sports persons in internationally recognized competitions.
This followed the excellent performance of Kenyan athletes at the last World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where Team Kenya finished second behind the United States Of America.
While Nigeria has no consideration for such reward and recognition for athletes backed by law, the Kenyan Parliament wants the following for deserving athletes:
★ Financial rewards of Kshs. 6 million for setting new world records -$48,000
★ Kshs. 4 million for gold medalists – $32,000
★ Kshs. 3 million for silver medalists and Kshs – $24,000
★ Kshs. 2 million for bronze medalists – $16,000
Beyond the financial rewards, the parliamet also want other NON-FINANCIAL MOTIVATION, such as :
★ Facilitation with issuance of diplomatic passports for established sportsmen and women
★ Appointment as goodwill ambassadors
★ Conferring national honours and privileges
★ Establishing medical cover and a post-retirement social protection scheme
★ Establishing contributory insurance and savings schemes to support sports persons who retire from active sporting due to injuries or age
Kenya finished second at the Worlds in Tokyo, with 7 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals.
...FUTURE ATHLETICS STARS
In the meantime, it was a dream for all Athletics-loving fans to watch potentially destined teenagers at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo Japan.
Bayanda Walaza in his curtain raiser final moment in the 100m competition at the Wanda Diamond League has to pull out due to hamstring injury and couldn’t recover as expectation was high for his recovery and inclusion for the World Championships.
In the case of Australian young talented sprinter Gout Gout with a South Sudanese heritage, his appearance was a touch of a moment as he sailed through his first heat in the 200m ŭnfortunately he couldn’t make it to the final.
Both athletes competed at the U20 World Championships in 2024. In that competition, the South Africa Bayanda Walaza won double gold medals
in both 100m and 200m respectively.
The 19-year-old Bayanda Walaza and the 17-year-old Gout Gout are highly on the radar to explore and excel in their future sprint careers.
They’re the future
