PARIS 2024: Get closer to Team Kenya

There were many moments of Kenyan pride at Tokyo 2020 with four gold medallists and 10 medals overall that made them the highest African nation on the overall medal table.

While the spotlight of Team Kenya will always be on the track, Paris 2024 also offers interests in other sporting spheres that will be worth following as the Games progress.

ATHLETICS

As ever, Kenya has brought plenty of medal-contending talent for the long distance races, but there is also plenty of reason to be optimistic about some of the shorter distance candidates that’ll be competing this year.

Ferdinand Omanyala holds the African 100m record with a sensational time of 9.77 that he set shortly after Tokyo 2020 ended. Since then, he has won a Commonwealth Games gold medal and added two African Championship golds to his collection.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi is a sensational middle-distance prospect who picked up silver at the World Championships last year. He will celebrate his 20th birthday in Paris and will look to win Kenya’s fifth successive Olympic gold medal in the men’s 800m.

Faith Kipyegon seems to be in the form of her life coming into these Summer Games. She has just beaten her own world record 1 500m time in Paris. Not only does that make her a clear-cut favourite to win a third straight Olympic gold in that event, she also looks odds on to add a 5 000m gold to that as well.

Mary Moraa goes into these games as the current 800m world champion. She usually competes in the 400m too but has decided to focus on her strongest distance to maximise her chances of success in Paris.

When it comes to the marathon, there aren’t many records that Eliud Kipchoge hasn’t broken in his career. A gold medal in Paris would set another impressive one as he could be the first athlete to win three Olympic marathons.

Peres Jepchirchir will also be defending her Olympic marathon title and would also make history if she does as no woman has ever won the event twice.

RUGBY SEVENS

The men’s sevens team have qualified for all three Olympic tournaments and booked their spot for this one impressively by beating South Africa in the final of the Africa Men’s Sevens last year.

Having recently earned promotion to the World SVNS series, spirits are high as they face the prospect of group games against Argentina, Australia and Samoa.

Vincent Onyala will captain the side and he is confident that his team can play a thrilling style that will be hard to play against.

FENCING

History will be made by Alexandra Ndolo as she will become the first Kenyan fencer to compete in the Olympics.

The left-handed épée fencer was born in Germany but decided to switch allegiances to Kenya. She won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships when she was still representing the country of her birth.

She could be the first Kenyan in 36 years to win an Olympic medal outside of athletics.