Nairobi prepares to host ‘strange’ but successful World Under-20 Championships

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 16 – First Lady Margaret Kenyatta was an impromptu guest as the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani intensified activities on Sunday ahead of the World Under-20 Championships which gun off on Wednesday.

The competition had earlier been slotted for a Tuesday start, but World Athletics pushed it by a day to enable more teams arrive in time due to travel complications brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mrs Kenyatta is the patron of the Championships and she was at the Stadium on Sunday afternoon inspecting several final touches on the grounds.

She visited the competition venue, the Media Centre, lounges and the Competition offices just to ensure that everything was in tip top shape as Kenya prepares to host the world.

Meetings were going on all over the stadium with the broadcast team finally setting up their equipment and running through their schedules.

On the track, technicians from Official timing partners Seiko were setting up and testing their equipment while the events management teams were setting up the stages, lighting and public address systems just in time for the event.

“Everything is in place and hopefully we are now ready to go,” quipped Barnaba Korir, a member of the Local Organizing Committee and the Athletics Kenya head of youth development.

Different from the 2017 World Under-18 showpiece that wowed the word with a full, enthusiastic and colourful stadium, the World Under-20 will be staged behind closed doors to avoid a possible spread of the coronavirus.

For everyone getting into the stadium daily, there will be rapid COVID tests while the checks are more stringent for personnel getting into the ‘Green Zone’ which is extremely close to the competitors.

No one is admitted into the stadium without a COVID-19 testing tag while hand-washing and sanitization points are littered all over the stadium.

In the stands, the Local Organizing Committee has laid out banners which will throw in a bit of ambience and color with the absence of the fans.