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Kenya has big budget for Rio Olympic Games

Xinhua, September 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Kenya needs 5.5 million U.S. dollars to send a team to Rio Olympics in 2016, officials said on Monday.

Kipchoge Keino, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) chairman, revealed the budget in Nairobi when he hosted a team of corporate sponsors of the Kenya team to the Youth Commonwealth Games in Apia, Samoa.

Four years ago in London, Kenya had surpassed the record set in Beijing by a single athlete. Forty-seven athletes, 27 men and 20 women, competed in athletics, boxing, swimming and weightlifting.

This time, Kenya hopes to enter a big team to the Rio Olympics. Keino said they expect at least 60 athletes to take part, including Rugby Sevens, which will be making its debut in the Games.

"The Rio Games are important to us and we want to work on areas we have not been successful before. Even in athletics, you saw that sprinters have all qualified and we want other disciplines to also push for more quotas," Keino said.

Kenya is represented by only seven track and field athletes in this year's Youth Commonwealth Games. Other disciplines include rugby, boxing, swimming and weightlifting. Endi