Youth Affairs and Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Monday, September 23, came up with an interesting proposal to ensure Kenyan universities produce top sporting talent.
Murkomen, while speaking during the National Olympic Sports Workshop in Sagana, was adamant the country needed to mainstream sports into the school system.
“The problem with Kenya is that we have separated the school from the organization of the sports," the CS lamented.
"When I was growing up in the village, we would be told that once you get to school, you should quit games."
According to Murkomen, part of the reason Kenya never takes sports seriously is because the economic impact of the sports industry in the country has never been quantified.
While congratulating Olympic champions Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet on their recognition by the American Academy of Achievement, Murkomen expressed the idea of schools nurturing students who showed promise in sports.
“Schools are the most important institutions for us. It is a pity and extremely embarrassing that globally, universities are contributing to the best Olympians in the world in other countries and developed countries yet in our country we do not have one university representative who has won a gold medal,” he added.
In the same workshop where Kenya’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics was reviewed, the CS called for the broadening of Kenya's preparation for future Olympic games with a special focus on underrepresented sporting disciplines in the country.
Notably, Kenya qualified for Judo and Fencing in the Paris Olympics for the first time in the country's history.
Besides track, Kenya has hardly produced world-class sports personalities who have taken the globe by storm.
The workshop, which brought together sports federation leaders and technical experts, also mapped out strategies for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games and Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics.
The CS also affirmed his commitment to elavate athletes to world-class standards.
