‘Sport unites us’: Kenya hopes to benefit from Olympics boost

  • 3 months ago

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00:00After years of effort, rugby in Kenya is pushing for the tri-line.
00:05In recent years, investment in the sport has soared, with money being poured into building
00:10and upgrading facilities.
00:12It seems to have done the trick.
00:14The team qualified this year, and the benefits go far beyond that.
00:19Kenya has a team of almost 100 athletes, so that is a sense of pride for us.
00:24Sport is the one thing which unites us as Kenyans.
00:28At that point, usually there are no barriers.
00:32People don't think political or tribal, and everybody rises up to support the team.
00:38Sports like rugby and running have long been big in Kenya.
00:42But athletes in this gym are doing things a little differently.
00:46They're training for triathlon.
00:49In the past decade, coach Michael has been working hard to develop the sport across the
00:54country and region, with hopes that Kenyan triathletes will one day qualify for the
00:58Olympics.
01:00The traditional sports are maybe a bit more saturated, so there's a lot more opportunity
01:06for kids maybe who want to excel.
01:09You know, whether to represent school, county or country, this new emerging sport gives
01:16them more opportunity.
01:19Athletes and their teams aren't the only ones to benefit from their success.
01:23Fans across the country are hoping the Paris Games will help their businesses strike gold.
01:28Because of the Olympics, we are going to play games every day, not occasionally.
01:33We are going to show all the Olympics matches in our big screens, which will experience
01:37new customers, new businesses.
01:40So many Olympic fans are going to come, they are going to spend with us.
01:44Fans have good reason for hope.
01:46Kenya has won 113 Olympic medals since the country first participated in 1956, making
01:53it the most successful African country at the Games.

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