Athletics legend Kipchoge Keino joins Team Kenya members for a group photo alongside officials at the High Performance Training Centre in Eldoret last Friday. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

A cozy haven nestled in an expansive farm on the outskirts of Eldoret, the City of Champions once again played host to the country’s Olympic-bound stars.

It is late afternoon at the Kipkeino High Performance Training Centre founded by Kenyan legend Kipchoge Keino, a two-time Olympic champion (1,500m in 1968 and 3,000m steeplechase in 1972), and a big part of the country’s middle and long distance track athletes are focused on the final touches of their training as they prepare to depart the country for Paris.

Kipkeino as he is popularly known, stood tall as Olympic athletes prepared to rush out for their evening jogs.

To the athletes, who will be flying Kenyan colours at the 2024 Paris Olympics from Thursday, August 1, the serene, well manicured camp is a sanctuary where Kipkeino, one of the country’s fathers of track athletics grabs every opportunity to ooze wisdom.

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