Nairobi — National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) secretary general Francis Mutuku says they will be burning the midnight oil to ensure Team Kenya have access to a balanced diet at their pre-Olympics training camp in the city of Miramas ahead of next year’s Paris Olympics in France.
Mutuku said that food will be part of the menu of discussions with hospitality officials and facility providers in the southern city to ensure that Kenyan representatives can eat well amidst their training and participation in the event.
“One of the major discussions we will be having will also be around the menu of our athletes during the pre-Olympics training. We will hopefully meet with the different facility providers to ensure that the menu, which is provided is suitable for our athletes. This is especially at that critical period leading to the Olympics,” Mutuku said.
The discussions and clarity around the menu for Team Kenya would go a long way towards alleviating past challenges where the country’s representatives at various international competitions have struggled to adapt to international cuisines or dishes.
The committee has since last year been scouting and assessing pre-Olympics facilities for Team Kenya in Miramas — situated approximately 620km from the French capital.
In the past one week, Mutuku has been leading high-level delegation to France to undertake logistical preparations for Team Kenya’s stay in the city as well as assessing the competition venues for different disciplines.
The visit is also necessary to review the preparations for athletes’ stay in the village and voice any concerns with the organisers of the quadrennial event.
The secretary general gave a thumbs-up to the competition venues, adding that their logistical preparations involve exploring means to ensure a seamless movement from the village to these venues.
“Obviously, having seen the competition venues…they are of excellent standards. Our pre-visit is to mainly establish the logistics around the movement of the athletes from the village to the competition venues…and how we can be able to move our athletes comfortably, in a most convenient way,” he explained.
Another key agenda of the team’s visit to France is to explore possible travel arrangements for Team Kenya to Miramas where they will continue their preparations for the competition.
“We have come to Miramas to continue the preparatory discussions on when our athletes will be able to come for training in advance of the qualifications and most importantly, what arrangements we will be able to make for their coming on the 1st of June all the way to the time the Olympics will be held,” Mutuku said.
He added: We will be having final preparatory meetings with the city of Miramas so we can go through all the logistics. They have provided us with different accommodation venues…we will be able to go and inspect them. Now that we have come with a top management team, they will be able to know which teams will come and during which period and where they will stay.
The visit of the logistics team will be followed by a technical delegation comprised of different sports coaches who will assess and recommend any additions to the facilities.
“We will have coaches from one or two major sports disciplines who will come to be able to establish what else is needed beyond what we have prepared,” Mutuku said.
Other members of the high-powered delegation include Team Kenya chef de mission Shadrack Maluki and CEO Wanjiru Karani, among others.