Jumper Samson Ojuka is among 14 para-athletes who will represent Kenya at the Paris Paralympic Games scheduled from August 28 to September 8 in the French capital.
Ojuka secured his spot after a standout performance at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, in May.
His sixth-place finish with a personal best of 5.73 metres earned him a high-performance ranking, paving his way to his Paralympic debut.
The team is scheduled to leave for a pre-Paralympic camp in Compiegne, 79.3 km northeast of Paris, on August 7.
For the past one and a half weeks, Ojuka has been training under coach Henry Nzungi, a two-time Paralympian, at the Nyayo Stadium.
“I am looking forward to sharpening my technical part of the game including my speed on the runway, my step on board and landing,” said Ojuka, also a final year law student at Kenyatta University.
Ojuko reckons he will have perfected his craft ahead of the athletics schedule slated to begin on August 30 at the Stade de France.
“I am well-conditioned with power. My focus will be on techniques and I will do as many jumps as possible,” said Ojuka,
The 28-year-old seeks to surpass his personal best (5.73m) with a new target of 6.5m.
“That distance will position me for a possible medal bracket performance with the current world lead standing at 6.5m," explained Ojuka.
"If I was able to jump 5.73m while stepping outside the board, then I should be home and dry when I hit the board,” he added.
Ojuka said he is no longer an amateur in the trade having participated in three World Championships in 2019 Dubai (100m and 200m), 2023 Paris (long jump) and Kobe, Japan in May (200m and long jump).
“It’s my dream and hope to carry the national flag high in Paris,” said the Maseno School alumnus, who transitioned from being a footballer to athletics in 2018 at Kenyatta University.
“I did 100m and 200m but thought to also channel my energies in jumps, where I now look stronger,” said Ojuka.
Nzungi, who represented Kenya in 100m and 200m at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, said he has worked on Ojuka’s body conditioning and his techniques which are getting better daily.
Nzungi noted that Ojuka’s challenge was hitting the board both in 2023 Paris, where he managed 5.58 and this year in Kobe where he did 5.73.
“He is now hitting the board and managing 6.0m. Our target is 6.3m before we leave. He will be doing 6.50m in Paris,” said Nzungi.
Kenya will be represented in five disciplines at this year’s Paralympics thus— athletics (eight), cycling (two), taekwondo (two), rowing (one) and powerlifting (one).