Safaricom Deaflympic Marathon Moves To Eldoret

Preparations are ongoing for the 3rd annual Safaricom Deaf Half Marathon, to be held this weekend in Bomet County.

The event, which has been sponsored by Safaricom to a tune of Kshs.2.5 million, will take place on Sunday 29th May and will include 21km and 10km races for both men and women.

161 athletes and a total of 300 participants are expected to take part in the race, which will be flagged off by Bomet County Governor Isaac Ruto.

Some of the prominent athletes expected to participate include Daniel Kiptum and Simon Kibai, among others.

“Athletes are already training in preparation for the Sunday event, so we expect a good turnout as most of the deaf athletes have shown interest. Some are training in Bomet, others in Eldoret, while the rest are using facilities in other venues,” said Berbard Banja, Secretary General, Deaf Athletics Association of Kenya (DAAK)

We will also use this event to scout for athletes who will participate in the National Deaf Trials on 3rd and 4th June in Kasarani, as we prepare for the World Deaf Athletics Championships in Bulgaria on the 25 June-3 July 2016,” he added.

“We are proud to be associated with the Deaf Athletics Association of Kenya (DAAK), and are happy to have sponsored their events for the last 3 years. The athletes have been performing extremely well locally and in the international meets, and we have high expectations that they will continue to make Kenya proud,” said Richard Alenga, Area Sales Manager, Rift Region – Safaricom.

Winners of the half marathon will walk away with Kshs.65,000, with number two and three taking home Kshs.55,000 and Kshs.45,000 respectively.

The 10km race winners will pocket Kshs.30,000, Kshs.20,000 and Kshs.10, 000 for position one to three respectively.

Last year, Simon Cherono won the 21km men’s race in a time of 1.03.00, while Rebecca Matiku carried the women’s race finishing in a time of 1:20:53 during the second leg of the Safaricom Deaf Half Marathon held in Eldoret.

In 2013, Kenya received a total of 17 medals during the 22nd Summer Deaflympics games held in Sofia, Bulgaria, placing the team in the 8th position globally out of 72 countries that took part in the competition.

The Safaricom Deaf Half Marathon is the first of the 14 races under the 2016 edition of Safaricom Athletics Series.

Preparations are ongoing for the 3rd annual Safaricom Deaf Half Marathon, to be held this weekend in Bomet County.

The event, which has been sponsored by Safaricom to a tune of Kshs.2.5 million, will take place on Sunday 29th May and will include 21km and 10km races for both men and women.

161 athletes and a total of 300 participants are expected to take part in the race, which will be flagged off by Bomet County Governor Isaac Ruto.

Some of the prominent athletes expected to participate include Daniel Kiptum and Simon Kibai, among others.

“Athletes are already training in preparation for the Sunday event, so we expect a good turnout as most of the deaf athletes have shown interest. Some are training in Bomet, others in Eldoret, while the rest are using facilities in other venues,” said Berbard Banja, Secretary General, Deaf Athletics Association of Kenya (DAAK)

We will also use this event to scout for athletes who will participate in the National Deaf Trials on 3rd and 4th June in Kasarani, as we prepare for the World Deaf Athletics Championships in Bulgaria on the 25 June-3 July 2016,” he added.

“We are proud to be associated with the Deaf Athletics Association of Kenya (DAAK), and are happy to have sponsored their events for the last 3 years. The athletes have been performing extremely well locally and in the international meets, and we have high expectations that they will continue to make Kenya proud,” said Richard Alenga, Area Sales Manager, Rift Region – Safaricom.

Winners of the half marathon will walk away with Kshs.65,000, with number two and three taking home Kshs.55,000 and Kshs.45,000 respectively.

The 10km race winners will pocket Kshs.30,000, Kshs.20,000 and Kshs.10, 000 for position one to three respectively.

Last year, Simon Cherono won the 21km men’s race in a time of 1.03.00, while Rebecca Matiku carried the women’s race finishing in a time of 1:20:53 during the second leg of the Safaricom Deaf Half Marathon held in Eldoret.

In 2013, Kenya received a total of 17 medals during the 22nd Summer Deaflympics games held in Sofia, Bulgaria, placing the team in the 8th position globally out of 72 countries that took part in the competition.

The Safaricom Deaf Half Marathon is the first of the 14 races under the 2016 edition of Safaricom Athletics Series.