Kenya's Githaiga Olympic Quest

Kenyan rower Ibrahim Githaiga
© Kenya Rowing Association

Ibrahim Githaiga is seeing the world. As one of the pioneers of Kenyan rowing, Githaiga has already hung out with Australia’s best and is now training with the elite of South African rowing, all in the name of aiming to be the first Kenyan rower to go to the Olympic Games.

Last year Githaiga and Kenya’s head coach, Kariega Gitau, received scholarships as part of the International Olympic Committee’s solidarity programme. These Olympic solidarity scholarships took the pair to the Australian Institute of Sport to work with head coach Reinhold Batschi, in Canberra, Australia. Then Githaiga left earlier this week from Kenya to travel to Knysna, near Cape Town, South Africa, for further training under South Africa’s head coach, Christian Felkel.

This is the first of two trips for Githaiga to South Africa and Felkel says so far the training has been going well. ?I think Ibrahim is enjoying it. He can exchange ideas and do testing with the other rowers,? says Felkel who also coaches World Champion bronze medallists Don Cech and Ramon Di Clemente. ?We’re easy-going people here and Ibrahim fits right in.?

A navy corporal and father of two from Mombasa, Githaiga discovered rowing in 1997 after being introduced to it by a visiting friend from England. Since then he has worked his way into Kenya’s sporting record books by holding the national record for the 2000-metre erg test, clocking 6:40 in 2002. Githaiga was also the sole Kenyan representative at the Fifth Africa Rowing Championships last year in Egypt and finished a credible fourth in the men’s single event.

Githaiga is now aiming for an Olympic berth. But first he must be selected to represent Kenya by racing at his country’s trials in March 2004 in hometown, Mombasa. If he is successful, Githaiga will continue onto the African Olympic qualifying regatta in Tunisia in April 2004. If Githaiga succeeds, he will become the first Kenyan to row at the Olympic Games.

?He’s very dedicated and takes rowing very seriously,? says Felkel. ?Even though he hasn’t been rowing that long, Ibrahim is a natural boat mover.?

Githaiga’s athletic background is based in high school sport where he swam, did cross country running and cycling as well as field hockey. When Githaiga joined the navy, he continued to play field hockey until rowing grabbed his attention. 
Rowing is a new sport in Kenya. The national federation, only in existence since 1995, has received substantial amounts of equipment for training from FISA.

Although Kenya is better known for its long distance runners, Kenya’s Rowing Federation, chaired by Seif Patwa, is looking to use the connection between rowing and running. ?Rowing has very close links to long distance running,? says Patwa. ?Rowing could easily become a sport that will entice some of the Kenyans to give it a go and produce some startling results.?