ケニアのカーリングチーム、目標は２６年冬季五輪出場

【ナイロビＡＦＰ＝時事】アフリカ東部ケニアは、夏季五輪では陸上競技の強豪国として知られるが、冬季五輪の出場選手は過去に２人しかいない。そんなケニアでカーリングの代表チームが結成され、２０２６年にイタリアのミラノ・コルティナダンペッツォで開催される冬季五輪への出場を目指している。（写真はカーリニングのケニア代表チームのトレーニング風景。ナイロビのカサラニ・スタジアムで）
　とはいえ、赤道直下の国でのカーリングの練習には、多くのハードルが待ち受けている。国内唯一のアイスリンクは、新型コロナウイルスの流行を受けて閉鎖。体育館での練習は床にストーン（石）を滑らせてしのいでいる。
　昨年２月、ケニアは世界カーリング連盟に正式登録し、ナイジェリアに次いでアフリカで２番目の加盟国となった。
　ケニア・カーリング連盟のラベンター・オグタ会長（３３）は、「大きな賭けですが、アフリカで２か国目ですから、２０２６年冬季五輪に出場できるかもしれません」と語る。
　しかし、ケニア代表がこれまでに行った国際試合は、昨年末のデンマークとの親善試合１回だけだ（７対５でケニアが勝利）。
　だが、困難な状況にもかかわらず、カーリングに熱中している人々はすでに１０００人以上いる。中にはサッカーやラグビーなど他のスポーツから乗り換えたアスリートもいる。
　「冬のスポーツをケニアにもたらすという挑戦に奮い立っています。冬を経験しない私たちにとって、まったく新しい地平が切り開かれています」とオグタ氏は言う。
　オグタ氏自身、７人制ラグビーの女子代表として２０１６年のリオデジャネイロ五輪を目指していた。インド発祥のスポーツ、カバディの国際連盟副会長も務める多才なアスリートだ。
　サッカーのケニア・プレミアリーグ（１部）のゴールキーパーだったハガイ・オディアンボ・ズマ氏も、カバディやラグビーを経験した後、カーリングに専念することにしたと話す。
　「ケニアはもともとスポーツの才能に恵まれた国です。政府が氷上トレーニング施設に投資し、選手の国外トレーニングをサポートするようになれば、カーリングで冬季五輪のメダルを獲得できる可能性は十分にあるでしょう」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/02/21-12:02）

A revered athletics powerhouse at the Summer Olympics, Kenya has only ever seen two of its nationals competing at the Winter Games.
But a motley crew of Kenyans in the newly formed national curling team are hoping against the odds to qualify for the 2026 extravaganza in Italy.
They have plenty of hurdles to overcome -- not least the lack of ice in the equatorial East African country.
Team members have been forced to improvise, sweeping the curling stones along a gymnasium floor after the country's only ice rink was closed down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It's a long shot but being only the second African country to play curling may give us a chance of qualifying to the 2026 Winter Olympics, says Kenya Curling Federation president Laventer Oguta.
But all this will depend on our preparations and support from the government.
Kenya officially registered with the World Curling Federation in February 2021, becoming only the second African member after Nigeria.
WCF president Kate Caithness described it at the time as a big achievement for Kenya and Africa and added this is going to motivate more African members.
- 'A long shot' -
Oguta said that nevertheless the world body had voiced some concerns about the viability of the sport in Kenya.
And only a year since it joined the WCF, the Kenyan federation has been hampered by Covid, the absence of proper training facilities and a lack of funding.
It even had to set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for training abroad to gear up for the upcoming Pacific-Asia Curling Championships in November.
Two members were eventually able to travel to the United States in January for a month-long stint to get a feel for training on ice.
But the team have so far only played one international match -- a friendly against Denmark late last year which the Kenyans won 7-5.
Despite the challenges, the sport has attracted more than 1,000 enthusiasts, some of them moving on from other sports such as football and rugby.
They hope to follow in the footsteps of trailblazing cross country skier Philip Boit, who became the first Kenyan at the Winter Olympics in 1998, and female alpine skier Sabrina Simader, who competed in South Korea in 2018.
- 'Gifted sporting nation' -
The challenge to bring a winter sport to Kenya inspires me. It opens a totally new horizon for us since we don't experience winter, says Oguta.
The 33-year-old narrowly missed out on a place in the Kenyan women's sevens team which competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics after suffering a knee injury.
But she has proved herself to be a versatile sportswoman.
She also helped to establish kabaddi -- a contact sport with its origins in India -- in Kenya and serves as vice-president of the International Kabaddi Federation.
Former Kenyan premier league goalkeeper Haggai Odhiambo Zuma says he too dabbled in kabaddi and rugby before choosing to focus on curling.
I love trying new sports and games, he says.
Kenya is naturally a gifted sporting nation. We have so much potential to bring medals at the Winter Olympics through curling if the government can invest in the ice training facilities and support the players to train abroad.
If the government can also cater for the development of curling, the sport will bring joy to our nation, (but) nothing in life comes easy.
Retired saleswoman Anne Kariuki, who now works as an Uber driver, says she began curling for fun but now hopes to represent her country at the next Winter Olympics.
I enjoy playing curling so much. It's a sport for everyone whatever your age, says the 50-year-old.
I didn't have the chance to compete for Kenya internationally in athletics, so I can't wait to see Kenya compete against the top nations and enter the next Olympics.