NOC of Kenya appoint lead consultant of strength and conditioning

Geoffrey Kimani being announced in a press conference with NOCK acting secretary general Francis Mutuku ©Twitter/@OlympicsKe

Experienced sprint coach Geoffrey Kimani has been appointed as the lead consultant for strength and conditioning by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK).

Kimani, who was the national sprints coach for the 2015 World Athletics Championships, was unveiled at a press conference.

"Strength and conditioning is vital since it stops injuries before they get to happen, among other benefits, and it's not something new since most high performance centres in developed nations have these programmes," he said.

Kenya are a dominant force in long distance running and Kimani believes other sports need to follow the lead of athletics.

“NOC-Ks main projects this year are Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Capacity Building. Through this program we will address both. We will work with qualified Olympic teams to enhance their training as well as national coaches to train them on S&C.” NOC-K Ag. @FrancisMutuku pic.twitter.com/34EuchqUWP
— National Olympic Committee - Kenya (@OlympicsKe) March 10, 2020

"If Kenya is to keep competing with the world, all sports need to deliberately incorporate strength and conditioning in their training processes and tie them to programme designs and competition cycles," he said.

Kimani has also worked in rugby sevens and football over the past decade, and will be part of the team for the next 10 months, according to Kenyan news website Daily Nation.

NOCK acting secretary general Francis Mutuku said that his work will be part of the elite athlete development programme going forward.

"This is the first step towards the overall plan of setting-up a sports science facility that will serve all sports in Kenya," he said.

Kimani will also carry out foundation work for the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as for the 2022 Youth Olympics in Dakar in Senegal.