Kenya at the 1998 Winter Olympics
| Kenya at the 1998 Winter Olympics |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||||||
| IOC code | KEN | ||||||||
| NOC | National Olympic Committee of Kenya | ||||||||
| in Nagano | |||||||||
| Competitors | 1 in 1 sport | ||||||||
| Flag bearer | Philip Boit | ||||||||
| Medals |
|
||||||||
| Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
Kenya competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The country's participation at the Games marked its Winter Olympics debut, although it had competed in the Summer Olympics since 1956. The delegation consisted of a single cross-country skier, Philip Boit. He had been trained as part of a scheme created by American sportswear company Nike, Inc. Although Boit did not win a medal, his efforts received worldwide attention after gold medallist Bjorn Daehlie of Norway waited for him at the finish line as Boit completed the race in difficult conditions in last place.
Kenya first competed in the Summer Olympics at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia. They participated at the Summer Olympics on nine occasions prior to the 1998 Winter Olympics, where they made their Winter Olympics debut in Nagano, Japan. They sent a single cross-country skier, Philip Boit.
Both Boit and Henry Bitok were runners who had been scouted by American sportswear company Nike, Inc., who wished to train a runners as cross-country skiers. After being recruited, Boit, who had never previously seen snow, initially trained in Kenya on roller skis.
They then travelled to Finland to practice on snow. Boit later explained, "It was a bit challenging at first because I had never experienced cold weather like that in my life, even putting on skis was so difficult! But after some time, I learned to adapt." The response to Nike's project was mixed, with some comparing the story to the story of the Jamaican bobsleigh team at the 1988 Winter Games, while others such as Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News said "These are marketing pawns financed by well-heeled publicity seekers."
...
Wikipedia