Deaflympics: Kenya eyes first medals in Tokyo

Kenya will on Monday be out to bag their first medal at the Tokyo 2025 Summer Deaflympics when the men’s 10,000 meters, and 4x400m relay finals go down at the Komazawa Olympic Park Gymnasium.

The 10,000m race will take place at 1:20pm local time (7:20am Kenyan time) while the 4x400m will be held at 3pm (9am in Kenya).

Reigning Deaflympics men's 1500m gold medallist, and 5,000m silver medallist Ian Wambui Kahinga will lead Kenya's charge in the 21-man field joined by newcomer Peter Rutto and veteran and former champion David Kipkogei.

Wambui, 24, qualified for the Tokyo Games after winning the trials held in September at Ulinzi Sports Complex in 30:46.5. Rutto came second in 30:47:5 ahead of Kipkogei who timed 30:47.9.

A victory for Wambui in the race will mark a perfect start in his quest for a historic triple at the Games. He will also be out to defend his 1,500m title later in the week and upgrade his 5,000m silver medal from Brazil to gold.

“I won gold in 1500m in Brazil two years ago and silver in 5000m, now I'll be aiming for another medal bracket in the 10000m. I want all three gold in my cabinet,” said Kahinga. He hopes his hard work will pay off in his quest to achieve the loft ambition.

“I trained with some of my hearing friends who challenged me to be better in the sport. I also did some marathons and cross country running to up my game.

"The good tips I got from my coach have been valuable in these trials," said the Nyahururu-based in an earlier interview.

Kipkogei, 46, is also a man to watch as he clinched a bronze medal at the previous Deaflympics held in Caxias do Sul, Brazil in 2022.

In the 4x400m mixed relay, Kenya’s captain Isaac Atima will be hoping to lead by example by steering the team to a podium finish.

The other members of the relay contingent are Linet Fwamba, Beryl Wamira and Simon Menza.

Atima was among the Kenyan quartet who won a bronze medal in the race at the Deaflympics held in Brazil.

Atima was also among the Kenyan quartet who clinched bronze medal in the men’s 4x400m relay at the Games in Brazil.

In Tokyo, he will also compete in the men’s 400m and 400m hurdles.

Meanwhile, the Kenya women’s deaf basketball team on Sunday began their campaign on a wrong footing after losing 104-30 to giants Australia at Ota-City General Gymnasium.

Kenya lost in all the four quarters of the Group “A” match – 44-3, 15-9,28-8, and 17-10.

Kenya’s coach Mary Chepkoi attributed the team’s huge loss to fatigue due to the long travel to Tokyo from Nairobi.

She expressed confidence that her girls will bounce back against Italy at the same venue at 3:50pm local time (9:50am in Kenya).

“We will have a sitting later to talk about today’s game but we have to adjust before our match against Italy,” she said.

Kenya’s point guard Mercy Mideva expressed hope that the team would pick up the pieces in their match against Italy.

“We have lost the match, of course we feel not happy about it but we are hoping to learn from the mistakes. Tomorrow (Monday), we will have another match and Kenya is going to try its best to improve in the performance,” said Mideva.