Gov’t petitions EU to clear Kenyan athletes – KBC

The Kenya government through the ministry of Sports has petition the European Union to allow Kenyan to compete at international events on the continent when the athletics season resumes in August.

Kenya was among the countries that were omitted from the list whose citizens are allowed to travel into the Schengen region as travel restrictions continue to ease.

Kenyan stars were missing from the roster for the August 14 Monaco Diamond League season-opening meeting, where athletes such as Uganda’s world champion Joshua Cheptengei were announced in the field.

Athletics Kenya president Jackson Tuwei said Kenyan athletes who have suffered since the restriction of movement was instituted and are missing in terms of finances.

Tuwei confirmed that a team from his federation and the Ministry of Sport has approached envoys of the European countries to hopefully establish a process of having Kenyan athletes cleared to run in the region.

“Our athletes have suffered a lot since the lockdown was instituted and we don’t want them to suffer further if they can get a chance to go and compete,” AK president Jackson Tuwei said.

“If they miss a whole season then it is not about missing travel, they are also missing a lot in terms of finances, profiles and even in terms of rankings,” Tuwei added.

The federation chief affirmed that a team from AK and the Ministry of Sport had already approached some envoys of the countries in question to establish the process of having Kenyans cleared to run in Europe.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday announced the partial lifting of restrictions in place to combat COVID-19.