Gym closures force Kenyan sports champion to train by roadside
Kenya taekwondo champion Vincent Ochieng usually trains in school sports halls in Kisumu, but now he is working out with hundreds of other people on the gritty surface of the western city’s biggest highway flyover.
The government closed sports facilities in March as part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, leaving athletes like Ochieng, who was looking forward to representing Kenya at the World Taekwondo Championships in China in October, with nowhere to train.
“We are planning to represent the country in October … in China Taekwondo World Cup, but unfortunately this Covid-19 is with us and we don’t know when it’s going to end. We just hope it ends before the tournament time,” Ochieng told Reuters as he trained with other sportsmen and women.
Ochieng, a six-times national champion who trains with his daughter, has represented Kenya in tournaments in South Korea, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Sudan.
(Text: Reuters)
