Kenya’s Brenda Bwire alongside Simon Njoroge are set to line up at the Deaflympic Games set for next month in Tokyo, Japan in search of her maiden global medal, flying the Kenya in cycling.
The 33 year old will be facing off the wolrd when the games kicks off from November 15th to 26th, seeking make history for her but for the whole nation as well.
It will mark the first time that Kenya is competing in cycling at the Deaflympics. Bwire reckoned that being among the first two Kenyans to race at the Summer Games is a “great honour” to her.
She hopes to make the moment even more memorable by winning a medal. “I am very relieved that we will be going to Japan,” she beamed with confidence after coming first in the women’s deaf category at the Jubilee Insurance Grand Nairobi Bike Race held at the Kenyan capital city on Sunday.
“I am very happy to get this opportunity and my goal is to win medals and make the country proud,” she added.
Buoyed by her Sunday victory, Bwire declared that she is now fit and ready for the Deaflympics showdown that awaits in Tokyo.
She, alongside Njoroge, earned slots at the Summer Games by winning the women’s, and men’s races respectively in the national trials held at Kasarani in Nairobi in August.
Initially, she pedaled just for recreational purposes but after her interest grew in it, she joined cycling groups before embracing the sport while studying at the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) in Mombasa.
In 2021, she clinched a gold medal in a triathlon competition held in Turkey. She was the only deaf in the competition.
On his part, the Kenya Deaf Cycling team head coach Steve Odongo thanked the government for supporting the team ahead of Tokyo.
Odongo declared that his charges are ready for the competition saying: “We thank the State for giving us support so that we can go to the Deaflympics. We feel that we are very ready for it. We have prepared well and we are promising Kenyans to return home with the glittering gold medals.