By Douglas Maina, Special Correspondent, in Chicago
Newly-appointed Kenyan ambassador to the United States of America, David Kiplagat Kerich, has promised to support Kenyan sportsmen in their exploits abroad.
The envoy turned up to congratulate Kenyan athletes at the recent Chicago Marathon, hailing them as “Kenya’s greatest ambassadors.”
He congratulated them for an amazing performance at the October 13 run where Kenya completed a men’s and women’s double through John Korir and Ruth Chepng’etich, the latter who won in a new world record time.
It was a moment of glory for the Kenyan community who came out at the Waldorf Astoria Chicago Hotel to applaud the champions for their stellar performance in the major event.
Kenya's Ambassador to the US David Kerich (second right) joins Kenya Tourism Board PR Manager Wausi Walya (second left) and other guests at the 2024 Chicago Marathon
The Chicago marathon is one of the six largest and most renowned road races in the world, others being Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, and New York City marathons.
The ambassador, who formerly served as the second speaker of Baringo County Assembly, was appointed in September, 2024, replacing Ambassador Lazarus Ombai Amayo who served in the capacity since September 2022.
In what was one of his first official engagements, Ambassador Kerich also joined the Kenyan and Ethiopian communities in a dinner organized in honor of the record-breaking sportsmen.
“I am here to join other countrymen to appreciate our sportsmen and wish them well in the upcoming events. We want you to remember that we are incredibly proud of you and will continue to cheer you on and support you as you make our countries proud,” said the envoy.
The annual event, which was co-organized and attended by the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Public Relations Manager Wausi Walya, brings together Kenyans from different parts of the US who come together to celebrate the athletes.
The 30-year-old Ruth Chepng’etich dominated the race and broke the world record, breasting the tape in two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds to become the first woman to complete a marathon in under 2:10:00.
The champion finished the race nearly two minutes faster than the time of 2:11:53 set by Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia in the 2023 Berlin Marathon.
Chepng’etich, who was on her third appearance in the Chicago race, dedicated her feat to Kelvin Kiptum, a self-coached Kenyan men’s world marathon record holder (2:00:35) who died in a car crash in February this year at the age of 24.
In the men’s race, fellow Kenyan John Korir Kipsang, 27, won in a personal best time of 2:02:43, the second-fastest time ever run in Chicago, only second to Kiptum’s world record.
Korir ran both the 2022 and 2023 Chicago Marathons, and despite running two of the fastest times of his career, finished third and fourth, respectively.
Korir, who has been chasing the Chicago title, won the Los Angeles Marathon back-to-back in 2021 and 2022 years.
Meanwhile, KTB is seeking to harness the growing leisure running community in the vast US market that is currently estimated at 50 million runners, to drive tourism to Kenya by promoting it as an ideal destination for running vacations and races.
The strategic move is part of KTB's efforts to tap into the global running community, which stands at slightly over 600 million enthusiasts.
The initiative follows Kenya’s continued dominance in major global marathons with the latest show of marathon excellence witnessed in the recently held Chicago Marathon.
According to KTB CEO June Chepkemei, the presence and success of elite Kenyan athletes in such prestigious marathons presents an opportunity to market the destination and drive sports tourism growth given the country's prowess on the global stage and the international exposure that Kenyan sports men and women have accorded the country over the years.
"Kenya has firmly established itself as an athletics powerhouse globally. Our marathoners and long-distance runners continue to conquer the world’s most prestigious marathons. We want to translate this prowess to building Kenya as a go-to destination for sports tourism, starting with running," said Chepkemei.
She stated that the KTB’s marketing activation at the Chicago Marathon, which is one of the six World Marathon Majors, served as a springboard to sell a more diverse Kenyan experience to the US market and beyond given the global representation of the participants, the larger international community of running enthusiasts.
“The Chicago Marathon has provided us with a perfect platform to engage and inspire leisure runners to experience the thrill of running alongside our elite athletes through the 'Run with Kenyans' campaign which we are currently spearheading,” Chepkemei added.
The activities held prior to the marathon included consumer interactions at the Abbott Health and Fitness Expo where KTB hosted a booth.
Additionally, at least 250 attendees graced The Chicago Marathon Dinner, an event organized by KTB and a host of Kenyans in the Diaspora, to honor elite runners including those from Kenya and Ethiopia who participated in the marathon.
The events were key in creating an association between Kenyan marathoners and Kenya as a diverse tourism destination, with the aim of driving more arrivals especially from the global running community led by the US.
"The US is our lead source market, outside of Africa, having contributed 265,310 arrivals or about 14 percent of our total arrivals in 2023.
However, most of these visits were for leisure or holiday purposes, so we are keen to diversify and invite them to further explore the breadth of our offerings.
“By tapping into the vast community of leisure runners in the US and beyond, we aim to drive signups to our locally hosted marathons so that they can take advantage of the world ‘Running with Kenyans’ alongside our champions and eventually become brand ambassadors of our country," explained Chepkemei.
Ambassador Kerich, echoed Chepkemei's sentiments, highlighting the importance of collaboration between the diaspora and the embassy in promoting Kenya as a top tourist destination.
"I appreciate KTB as a key partner in creating synergies that will help grow Kenya's tourism pie. Sports tourism presents a significant opportunity, and we thank our athletes for the role they play in showcasing our country's prowess on the global stage," said Ambassador Kerich.
He challenged the Kenyan diaspora to embrace the “Ziara Kenya One Diaspora One Tourist” campaign, which seeks to harness the over three million Kenyans in the diaspora to help market their motherland through their networks within their host countries.
The “Run with Kenyans” campaign is a strategic initiative that aims to leverage Kenya's athletics dominance to attract international leisure runners and lovers of adventure including mountain climbing to participate in locally hosted marathons like the annual Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon and experience the thrill of running alongside elite Kenyan athletes.
Recently, KTB partnered with the Standard Chartered Marathon in a strategic deal spanning the next three years beginning from this year’s race this Sunday (October 27) as part of a larger campaign to re-position Kenya as the home of marathon running.
(Additional reporting by KTB)