Global Post: Nairobi, Kenya has placed a bid with the International Olympic Committee to host the 2024 games. If they are chosen, Nairobi will be the first-ever African city to host the games, according to WebProNews.
Along with its Olympic bid, the African nation also appealed to investors to “fund improvements to facilities that have helped to nurture some of the world’s greatest distance runners,”Reuters reported.
Isaiah Kiplagat, chairman of Kenya’s athletics federation, noted that the town of Iten in the Rift Valley had become like “a magic place” for athletes seeking the winning formula. GlobalPost originally reported on the tiny town at the start of the London Olympic games, noting its capacity to produce winners. The piece described:
The little village of Iten, two kilometers above sea level in Kenya’s Western Province, is where more than 800 Kenyan runners, including world record holders and Olympic favorites, live and train. The tiny mountain town has become almost mythological in running circles, producing world-beaters year after year.
But in order to be a real Olympic contender, the small town must stretch a bit larger. Kiplagat noted to Reuters that, as it is, the town struggles to accommodate all the athletes who want to train there. “The facilities are not conducive, they are not good enough,” he was quoted as saying.
Yes, Iten and it’s evirons are so beautiful. Unspoilt and unpolluted and an ideal place to train our athletes. What they have now is not really a ‘world class’ place, but, it still produces what you see at the Olympics from our nation.
I’m so proud of them!