Sports Cabinet Secretary, Ababu Namwamba on Monday unveiled the lead team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Speaking during the unveiling ceremony at the Kenya National Library Services in Nairobi, the CS said the move to announce the names in public was meant for transparency.
“I am very pleased that NOCK has accelerated preparations for Paris 2024. I'm glad on behalf of the government of Kenya to receive the leadership team that will be part of the steering committee for Team Kenya in Paris," he said.
Kenya Judo Association chairman Shadrack Maluki has been appointed the chef de mission.
He will work alongside Wanjiru Karani Mbugua (CEO), Dr. James Ondiege (chief medical officer) and Dimmy Kisalu (team manager).
During the unveiling ceremony at the Kenya National Library Services, NOCK President Paul Tergat stated that the team will be in charge of all operations and logistics for Team Kenya's trip to the Paris Olympic Games.
When there is a lapse in the management of the game, it always hits back at us. So we want to ensure that those we select to manage the team are up to the task," Tergat said.
This is the first time a management team is announced 18 months in advance.
Maluki takes over the reins of leadership from National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) deputy president Waithaka Kioni who was named the Chef de Mission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Kioni, the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) president, headed Kenya’s delegation to the Summer Games which were held in August 2021.
The Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024. On September 13, 2017, Paris was awarded the Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru.
Following multiple withdrawals, which left only Paris and Los Angeles in contention, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a process to award the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics to the two cities concurrently.
After London (1908, 1948, and 2012), Paris will become the second city to host the Summer Olympics three times, having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924.
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