World Cross Country Championships bronze medalist Daniel Simiu Ebenyo is among the more than 500 athletes set to compete during the penultimate leg of the second season of Betika BingwaFest at the Mumias Sports Complex for the Western Region edition of the competition this weekend.
Fresh from the global showpiece where he finished third in the men’s senior race, Ebenyo will line up in the lucrative 10,000m and 5,000m races as he aims to double up to take home Sh550,000 on Saturday as athletics action takes centre stage at the Mumias Sports Complex.
Teams across football, rugby, 3×3 basketball, and athletes across different race disciplines will be out to have a share of the over Sh17 million prize pool up for grabs.
Football action kicked off on Monday, January 19, across different venues, while rugby and basketball are expected to start on Friday at the Bull Ring and Mumias Sports Complex, respectively.
All team sports will then converge at the Mumias Sports Complex on Sunday for the final’s showdown.
Betika Head of Brand, Eric Mwiti, said they are excited to be in Western this weekend as we near the end of the second season, noting that the region that remains a hub for top talents
“We are here to give those talents a chance to be seen, while at the same time putting them on the same stage against some of the best talents in the case of athletics. We look forward to an entertaining weekend as we look for the Western Bingwas.” Said Mwiti.
The second season of the multidisciplinary sports extravaganza kicked off in August as Nakuru hosted the Rift Valley Region event at the Afraha Stadium before moving to Siaya County for the Nyanza Region leg, then to Machakos County for the Eastern Region chapter followed by a stop in Nairobi, then Meru for the Central Region edition and will wrap up the regional qualifiers at the Coast next month.
Winners in football and rugby, both men and women, will pocket Sh1 million each, while the winning teams in the 3×3 basketball will go home Sh500,000 richer. The first runners-up for football and rugby will be awarded Sh500,000, while the second runners-up are set to receive Sh250,000. In basketball, the teams that finish second and third will take home Sh250,000 and Sh100,000, respectively.
Gold medalists in the lucrative 10,000m will take home Sh300,000, as the first and second runners-up will pocket Sh250,000 and Sh200,000, respectively. The athletes who finish fourth and fifth will round off the prize bracket and will receive Sh100,000 and Sh75,000 in that order.
In the 5,000m category, winners will be awarded Sh250,000, second-place finishers Sh150,000, third place Sh100,000, fourth place Sh50,000, and fifth place Sh30,000.
Prizes for the top five in the 100m, 4000m, 800m, and 1,500m will be the same, with gold medalists receiving Sh150,000, silver medalists Sh100,000, and bronze medalists Sh60,000. The fourth and fifth place finishers will pocket Sh30,000 and Sh20,000.
Just as in all previous editions, a free medical camp will be held throughout the weekend, offering general consultation services, specialist consultation services, laboratory, and pharmacy services.
By Anita Omwenga
