Kenya made history as the African leg of the Rafting World Cup Series held on the Sagana River in Murang’a County concluded Saturday after three days of intense competition.
The event brought together 61 teams from across the globe, marking a significant milestone as Kenya became the first African nation to host a leg of the prestigious series.
Team Kenya delivered an outstanding performance, with the women’s team sweeping gold, silver, and bronze medals across the various categories, except in the mixed category, where Uganda clinched gold.
Speaking at the Awards Ceremony, Kenya Rafting Federation Treasurer Ibrahim Mwangi praised Team Kenya’s exceptional performance and commended the government through the ministry of sports for its strong support of sports development.
“In all categories Kenya performed very well, with the girls’ team sweeping the gold silver and bronze medals in all the categories except for the mixed category, where Uganda took home the gold,” he said, noting that the government has been very supportive of sports in the country.
Kenyan athletes Jamal Nasir and 14-year-old Alissa Kariuki expressed satisfaction with their performance, urging more young people to embrace water sports.
“In the African women’s category, we won second place; in the mixed category, we won third place,” Kariuki said, calling upon more young people to embrace water sports.
World rafting leaders lauded Kenya for successfully hosting the competition, calling for increased participation from more countries to accelerate the growth of the sport across Africa and beyond.
The event attracted Spectators from across the country, who celebrated the impressive performance by the Kenyan team, highlighting the growing enthusiasm for the sport in the country.
Angeline Choni, who was attending a rafting competition for the first time said, “This rafting World Cup series was a great opportunity for the country to diversify its scope of international sports participation.”
Meanwhile, President of the Asian Rafting Federation, Shaukat Sikand, stated that an agreement had been signed with the African Rafting Federation to promote and develop rafting across the two continents.
“The agreement between the Asian and African continent includes exploration of various rivers in Asia and Africa and will also lead to the Afro-Asian championships in both continents.” Sikand said.
“We will work jointly for the development of rafting among the youth in Asia and Africa,” he added.
The Rafting World Cup Series now heads to Brazil for its final leg, scheduled for November this year.
By Purity Mugo
