Kenya makes history as first African host of Rafting World Cup Series

PURITY MUGO-KNA

Kenya made history by hosting the African leg of the Rafting World Cup Series, held on the Sagana River in Murang’a County, following three days of intense competition.

The event brought together 61 teams from across the world, marking a major milestone as Kenya became the first African country 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 various categories, except in the mixed category, where Uganda clinched gold.

Speaking during 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 continued support in promoting sports development.

“In all categories, Kenya performed very well, with the girls’ team winning gold, silver and bronze medals in all categories except the mixed category, where Uganda took home the gold,” he said, noting that the government has been very supportive of sports development 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.