Track and field events will finally get underway today at this year’s Paris Olympic Games at the Stade de France in Paris, France, after a three year wait.
There will be 48 events, consisting of 23 each for men and women, as well as two mixed events (the 4x400m mixed relay and the 35km mixed team race walk).
Three venues will be used for the road events: Hotel de Ville and Les Invalides for the start and finish of the marathon races and Pont d’lena for race walks.
Kenya, with a contingent of 53 athletes, is competing in 100m,400m,400h men as well as the 800m,1500m,3,000msc,5,000m,10,000m and marathon for both men and women and in 4x400m mixed relay.
Kenya has also one javelin athlete, the only field event that the country will be participating in.
In today’s track action Kenya will be competing in 1500m men heats,5000m women heats,4x400m mixed relay,800m heats women and the 10000m men’s final.
In the last edition in Tokyo 3 years ago, Kenya bagged both marathon gold and two gold in track events, 1500m women and 800m men.
At the Paris Games, gold medal-winning athletes in the 48 track and field events will receive $50,000, approximately KSH 6.5 million, each from World Athletics for their accomplishments.
Relay teams will be awarded $50,000 .
This will be the first time in history that prize money will be rewarded to gold medalists at the Olympic Games.
