The Kenya Paralympics team left on August 7 for the pre-Paralympic camp in Compiegne, 79.3km northeast of the French capital.
Athletes from 184 delegations moved from the Ard de Triomphe down the Champs-Élysées to the Place da la Concorde.
The Kenyan flag-bearers were Samuel Mushai (5, 000m) and Asiya Mohammed (rowing). The Kenya National Paralympic Committee (KNPC) took a team of athletes and guides to this year’s summer Olympics scheduled from August 28th to September 8th.
Kenya’s Competitors
Kenya was represented by a team of 14 para-athletes and guides, competing in across five disciplines at the Paris Summer Games; athletics, rowing, taekwondo, powerlifting, and cycling.
The squad comprises a mix of seasoned veterans and promising newcomers all poised to make their mark on the global stage.
- Julieta Moipo, 23. Sport: Para-Taekwondo Event: Under-57 Kgs Disability: arm impairment, upper limb.
- Samson Ojuka, 28
Sport: Para-Athletics
Event: 100m, 200m, long jump T11
Disability: Erbs Palsy - Stency Neema, 22
Sport: Para-Taekwondo
Event: Under-52Kgs
Disability: Arm impairment, upper limb - Hellen Wawira, 32.
Sport: Powerlifting
Event: Under-41kg
Disability: Spina Bifida - John Lokedi, 24.
Sport: Athletics
Event: 5,000m T13
Disability: Partially blind - Kennedy Ogada, 53.
Sport: Cycling
Event: B1
Disability: Blind - Samwel Mushai, 35, with his guide Jean Kipchumba
Sport: Para-Athletics
Event: 5,000m T11
Disability: Visually impaired - Asiya Mohammed, 32
Sport: Para-Rowing
Event: single sculls
Disability: Amputee (both legs) - Nancy Chelangat Koech
Sport: Para-Athletics
Event: 1,500 T11
Disability: Visually Impaired - Mary Waithera Njoroge, 40 & her guide
Sport: Para-Athletics
Event: 1,500 T11, 400 T11
Disability: Visually impaired - Wesley Kimeli Sang, 30
Sport: Para-Athletics
Event: (1,500 T46)
Disability: Right-Hand Disability
Sponsorship For Team Kenya
Safaricom PLC announced a KSh 10 million sponsorship for the Kenya Paralympic Team, KSh 5 million in cash, and a similar amount in-kind. It was unveiled by Safaricom PLC Business and Development Officer, Michael Mutiga.
Mutiga handed over a sponsorship cheque to Kenya National Paralympic Committee (KNPC) VP, Bhaveet Chudasama, at a colorful ceremony at the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club.
Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), through its flagship brand Tusker, also donated KSh 5 million sponsorship for Team Kenya. In addition, Tusker gifted the Paralympic team with an official travel kit. The kit which is entirely made in Kenya, goes to show support and showcase the talent and craftsmanship of our Kenyan people.
The sponsorship went towards supporting the team’s preparation, and participation in the games scheduled from August 28 to September 8 in the French capital.
Medal Standing
Kenya had only nine contestants at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, rescheduled to 2021, where the country managed only one medal (bronze) from Nancy Chelangat.
In the 2024 edition, things were no different. Kenya only managed only one medal. Ojuka’s silver medal is the first field event medal won since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The final year law student at Kenyatta University made a 6.2m jump, a new African record in men’s long jump T37.
Kenya will bore out of the games with only one medal for the second time in the history of the games that end today.
Kenya made its Paralympic Games debut in 1972. It was absent in 1976, but returned to the 1980 Summer Games and has competed in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since then. It has never competed at the Winter Paralympics.
