The prestigious ISF World Schools Cross Country Championship is set to take the Kenyan capital by storm, as 22 nations from across the globe converge at the iconic Ngong Racecourse for the highly anticipated event that commenced today and will end on Tuesday, May 14th.
The 24th edition of the championships is returning to the African continent for the second time since Marrakech, Morocco in 2000, and has attracted a huge lineup of young cross country talents. Medals will be up for grabs in the Under-12, Under-15, and Under-18 categories for both boys and girls.
Hosts Kenya will be looking to showcase their prowess on home soil, having the largest contingent of 60 athletes. However, they will face stiff competition from their East African neighbours, with Uganda sending a 41-strong team and Tanzania bringing 29 runners.
Also participating in the tournament is Chille, and they can’t wait to take as many medals back to South America.”We are ready to conquer Nairobi,” declared Rodrigo Garcia, the Head of Delegation for the 33-man Chilean team that arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Thursday morning.
Other notable participants include squads from Nigeria, Namibia, Morocco, China, Tunisia, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Mexico, Luxembourg, Croatia, New Zealand, and the French International School of Kenya.
The younger athletes will cover distances ranging from 1.2km to 2.5km, while the Under-18 competitors will push themselves to the limit over a maximum of 5.5km. The girls’ races will feature slightly shorter distances compared to the boys.
Presiding over the championships will be ISF President Laurent Petrynka, who arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday to oversee the global governing body for school sports’ flagship event.
