Inspired by celebrated Kenyan javelin thrower Julius Yego, deaf athlete Kelvin Kipkogei has set his sights on clinching a gold medal at the Tokyo 2025 Summer Deaflympics set for November 15 to 26.
Although the 27-year-old will also compete in men’s long jump, his main focus remains on the javelin where he hopes to emulate Yego’s success by winning a gold medal.
“I have always admired his (Yego) performance,” said Kipkogei on the sidelines of Team Kenya’s training at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
“He throws 90m and I would like to perform like him. He inspires my career and I would like to meet him. I believe that if I had an opportunity to train with him, he would be able to share with me some tips to improve. I look up to him,” he added.
After learning javelin through YouTube, Yego went on to shine at various global competitions. He clinched a historic gold medal in the 2015 World Championship in Beijing, China with an impressive throw of 92.72m – becoming the first Kenyan to win a World Championship gold medal in a field event. Yego also won a silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
It is this remarkable success by the “YouTube Man” that Kipkogei who hails from Eldoret hopes to emulate.
Setting a target of throwing at least 60m at Tokyo, Kipkogei’s confidence is fueled by the bronze medal that he won in his Deaflympics debut in Caxias do Sul, Brazil in 2022.
At that competition, the African champion managed a throw of 51.30m while Italy’s Masetti Matteo won gold with a throw of 60.59m.
“I never thought that I could be a javelin thrower: I never thought that I could represent Team Kenya and now that I have this opportunity, my biggest goal and dream is to get a gold medal in this competition,” said Kipkogei, recalling how he once tried sprinting but gave up because it was too challenging.
In taking up javelin, he said he followed in the footsteps of his father.
“I saw my father doing javelin and I was interested in it. I found a group to train with. We would chop trees and use them as training tools. When I joined primary school, I got an opportunity to start practicing seriously because at that time I was hurling 52m and later 57m. Now I don’t know how I will perform but I am hoping to get up to 60m or something above that,” the athlete said.
Kipkogei qualified for this year’s Tokyo Deaflympics by finishing first in the trial held at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi in September.
Ahead of the Deaflympics, he said he needs to work on his strength. “I feel I’m ready for Japan, I only need to improve on my conditioning,” he said.