Tour guide-turned-athlete on a memorable mission

An Iten-based tour guide-cum-athlete is on a mission to help athletics coaches acquire certification.

Amos Kimutai said many athletics coaches were producing world beaters, but did not have the necessary certification to shape budding talents into professional athletes.

Kimutai, who has been taking athletes visiting the Iten and many other training bases in the North Rift for tours in scenic sites including Torok Falls, Cheploch Gorge and Rimoi National Games Reserve, among others, said he was using Sh100,000 he won in a SportPesa Tujiamini initiative in his mission to help coaches get certification and recognition.

“We have many athletes in Iten who love athletics but have no certification. When I won the money, I saw it fit to support the coaches to get certified,” said Kimutai.

He said several coaches, including retired athletes, are struggling to get certified.

“I am looking for trainers and at the end of the exercise, some coaches will get certificates which will help them to secure jobs with athletics managements,” Kimutai said in Iten.

He said the certification exercise will be open to practicing coaches eager to train elite athletes.

“Initially, I wanted to use the money to take athletes for a tour of some of the beautiful sceneries in Elgeyo Marakwet but I thought I should use it to do something that the athletics fraternity would remember for many years. I decided to support the trainers because that will be an achievement to the athletes and their coaches,” he said.

He went on: “Taking the athletes out could have been fun, but that would not have been impactful. I wanted to do something that the coach and athlete will remember for many years to come.”

The tour guide-turned athlete asked the government to, in addition to monetary rewards for medallists, take athletes who represented the country at the 2024 Paris Olympics for a trip to Maasai Mara and other game reserves upon their return from France.

Kimutai has also been donating shoes and offering transport to athletes using proceeds of tour guiding.

Through his support to athletes, his efforts were recognized by Kip Run, an Iten-based French athletics camp and offered an opportunity to watch the 2024 Olympics Games, which came to a close on Sunday, live in Paris.

“Through athletics and tour guiding, I have understood athletes and their coaches; that is why I embarked on a mission to support them in my own small way. I print T-Shirts and sell them to my clients and use the proceeds to support an athlete or a coach,” he added.