Kip Keino Classic: Winning athletes to smile all the way to the bank

For their efforts on home soil, Kenyan athletes who bag gold will have an additional Ksh 50,000 token courtesy of the Kip Keino Classic title sponsors ABSA Kenya among other goodies meant to make them financially empowered. 

While making the announcement, ABSA Kenya CEO Jeremy Awori said the bankers are keen to walk the journey with willing athletes to help them plan for their financial future to avoid falling into trouble when their legs can nolonger carry them.

"As the title sponsor, we are pleased to announce a token for athletes that pick gold in their respective disciplines. Each will receive Shs 50,000 from us as appreciation for their achievement. The reward comes with an ABSA bank account and international debit cards," said Awori. 

The bank announced a Shs 20 million sponsorship for the Kip Keino Classic with an additional partnership with Athletics Kenya (AK) to take any willing athletes through financial literacy courses and free counsel on where and how to invest their hard earned money. 

"We are excited to play a role as title sponsors in this year's event. The event gives us an opportunity to stamp our authority as the home of Champions. We at ABSA are passionate about sports because we understand the important role it plays in our society. We are sponsoring this event to a tune of Ksh 20m," Awori had announced.  

The World Athletics event has nine core events, four more than the 2020 event that had five on the core category. The first core discipline is women's hammer throw set to begin at 2.30pm followed by men's pole vault. 200m women and women, women's long jump, 3000m women's and men's steeplechase, men's hammer throw and the men's 100m capping the action at Kasarani. Others fall on the discretionary and national category. 

The one-day event is bringing together over 80 athletes set to compete in the national events while the discretionary and core events have attracted 185 athletes according to AK. 

In 2020, each continental gold event would award Ksh 21 million ($200,000) prize purse with Ksh 2.1 million ($20,000) to be won in each core discipline. The winner was set to take home Ksh 651,000 ($6,000) and the lowest Ksh 87,000 ($800) in the core disciplines.

Besides the prize money for the 1st to 8th ranked athletes in the core disciplines, ranking points are also on offer.