In 2016, the Kenyan team had an amazing performance at the Olypmics, but with the 2020 games postponed until later on this year, could we see this performance continue? With many people looking to them to replicate this, could this be the year that they will outperform themselves? In this article, we will be providing you with insight into how Kenya is preparing to achieve Olympic glory this year.
Postponement of Tokyo 2020 Olympics
2020 was a year that changed everyone’s life in one way or another as the Covid-19 pandemic saw lockdown measures in place as well as the closure of several businesses. One of the biggest sporting events to be canceled throughout the course of 2020 was the Olympics. While this has had several teams around the world upset that they would not be able to compete, it has also presented several major benefits.
One of the biggest benefits is the possibility of Andy Murray to qualify for the Olympic tennis position with longer training. Along with this is the possibility of Kenya setting their sites on Olympic glory in the 10,000-metre race win, despite sporting being interrupted in 2020.
The Career of Kibiwott Kandie
The one man who can get them the win is the half marathon record holder, Kibiwott Kandie. Throughout his career thus far, this runner has been world number one in road running for three weeks and has seen other amazing achievements such as position 108 in the men’s overall ranking for the sport. As one of the best runners in the country – running a 10,000 race in 2019 with a time of 27:56 – this extension to the training could be his one chance of achieving a podium finish in this event in 2021.
As a result of strong performance throughout the course of the year as well as an amazing performance resulting in 6 gold medals at the Olympics in 2016, there has been increased confidence in Kenya and its ability to create an Olympic-ready squad for the now 2021 Olympic games. Many see an increase in the number of bets being placed on some of the top betting sites for sporting events such as the Kenyan football team.
This is a promising time for the Kenyan team and those looking to support it as the confidence in their abilities is now higher than ever before. With an industry that has been hit hard by changes to BCLB regulations, this increased confidence could not come at a better time for several bookmakers in Kenya as well as those providing the opportunity for betting on the team as this is set to increase revenue substantially whilst providing fans with a service they can trust.
Kenya’s Performance in Past Olympic Games
In the last Olympics at Rio, the Kenyan team had huge success across the board with a total of six gold medals, six silver medals as well as one bronze, making it the best performance at the Olympic games in Kenya’s history. Despite all these wins, however, the Kenyan time only managed to secure 15th position on the 2016 Rio Olympics Medal table with a total of 13 points.
This is still a huge achievement for the country which gave a much-needed boost to the sporting industry. Several sporting superheroes such as Vivian Cheruiyot, Eliud Kipchoge and many others from the athletics team have had a significant impact on Kenya’s performance.
Coming off of the back of their successful 2016 Olympics campaign, could the new wave of younger Olympic contestants be enough to see yet another Olympics with Kenya’s best performance ever? Will it be enough to see Kibiwott Kandie take home a medal in the running event, or will it be his debut without being able to win a medal?
With this in mind, there are several reasons for many people to be excited about the future of the Olympic games and the success of the Kenyan Olympics team. How do you think they will perform in the 2021 games?
