National race walk head coach George Kariuki has called for more coaches to take up the World Athletics race walking online courses to increase the number of qualified judges across the country and strengthen the technical structure.
Speaking during a race walking symposium organised by Athletics Kenya, Kariuki highlighted the shortage of qualified judges, saying a wider pool of officials would help raise the standards and professionalism of race walking at the grassroots and national levels.
“In Kenya we have few qualified judges, and we are encouraging many more to rise and sit for the online course for each region to have at least one qualified national race walking judge,” Kariuki said.
Kenya currently has three officially designated World Athletics Silver-Level Race Walking Judges, who form part of the elite panel of international and area officials qualified to officiate at continental and global competitions. The judges are Kariuki, a technical pioneer of race walking in Kenya, Benjamin Mbusya Mbiti and Joseph Ochieng.
The shortage of qualified officials was further highlighted during the AK National Trials held in July 2025 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi, where international technical officials and high-level judges were brought in specifically to oversee the race walking events.
Kariuki also called on Athletics Kenya to support certified judges in coordinating race walking events during weekend meetings, arguing that their presence would help athletes and coaches better understand the technical demands. “As we await more judges, we request AK to support at least one of the judges we have to attend and coordinate and give guidance on race walking events in weekend meetings,” he said.
With Nairobi set to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, Kariuki stressed the need for greater professionalism across race walking, both on and off the competition course. “We want to encourage professionalism as we head to the 2029 World Championships in Nairobi,” he said.
He also called on the federation to secure more international competition for the country’s race walkers to gain exposure and sharpen their competitive edge ahead of the global championships.
“As with other events, for our walkers to secure places in global championships, they need competition abroad where they can compete with the best of the best to attain required qualifying standards,” Kariuki said.
Further, Kariuki issued a stern warning to coaches and athletes tempted to take shortcuts in pursuit of results, insisting that genuine progression in race walking must be built on hard work, proper coaching and clean competition. “To the athletes and walkers, there is no shortcut to genuine results,” he said.
“Coaches are like parents to the athletes and should not assist in manipulating results; it will not help athletes in any way.”
Kariuki also warned athletes and coaches against using prohibited substances, urging the race-walking fraternity to embrace clean sport and protect athletes’ careers. “Some coaches are helping athletes acquire prohibited substances to attain optimum performance,” he said.
“By doing so, you are reducing the lifespan of your athletes in our sport.”
In August, rising race walker Stephen Ndangiri was suspended by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya over performance-enhancing substances, just days after winning silver in the 10,000m race walk at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
