Mombasa, KENYA: Mombasa County will be hosting Safaricom fifth edition of the Deaf Half Marathon set to be held on Sunday, August 19, 2018.
The race will bring together over 200 deaf athletes from all over the country and will include 21 kilometer and 10 kilometer races for both men and women.
Benard Banja, Secretary General, Deaf Athletics Association of Kenya (DAAK) said, Mombasa has been chosen because of its humid weather and the need to create more awareness to the coastal areas considering they registered less athletes in the national team from the region in the past competitions.
“Most of the expected participants are already in training, and we expect a fantastic show this weekend. We will use the marathon to select athletes to represent the country in the upcoming deaf champions this year,” said Benja.
As the sponsorship partner, Safaricom PLC has sponsored the marathon to a tune of sh2.5m and seeks to bring together deaf athletes from all corners of the country providing a platform to display their talent through the race.
Acting Director Consumer Business, Safaricom Charles Kare, alluded that they have supported the marathon to give deaf athletes an opportunity for career growth and to celebrate diversity and inclusivity in all aspects.
Half marathon winners will walk away with sh100, 000, with the 1st runners-up bagging sh50, 000, and 2nd runners-up pocketing sh30, 000. The winners in the 10km race will bag sh50,000, sh40, 000 for 1st runners-up and sh30,000 for the 2nd runners- up respectively.
Some of the notable names that will headline the marathon include Peter Toroitich from Turkana County who is the defending champion for last year’s Meru marathon, Daniel Kiptum from Nandi County who is the Gold medalist of 2017 Sumsun Deaflympic Games and Simon Kibai from Uasin Gishu County, who is Gold medalists in 10,000m and 5,000m Sumsun Deaflympic Games.
