Seven athletes will benefit from The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) Individual Athlete Scholarship Programme ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Today, NOC-K officially launched the programme, in collaboration with Olympic Solidarity, is designed to provide targeted, athlete-centred support to elite Kenyan athletes with demonstrated potential to represent the country at major international competitions, including the Olympic Games.
The launch saw eight athletes from different sports disciplines named as the first individual beneficiaries of the scholarship programme, making them the first athletes to receive individual Olympic Solidarity support following the Kenya women’s hockey team, which had earlier benefited from a similar scholarship arrangement.
The selected athletes are Angella Okutoyi (tennis), Priscilla Mburu Wangui (shooting – air rifle), Joshua Amunga Mboya (weightlifting), Juliana Anyango Ongonga (weightlifting), Haniel Maindi Bwaku Kudwoli (swimming), Alexandra Ndolo (fencing), Mahabila Mathayo Matonya ( wrestling), and Sara Faustyna Mose (swimming).
Each athlete will receive an Olympic Solidarity scholarship running from 2025 through to August 2028, a critical phase of their respective Olympic qualification journeys. The support is structured to contribute towards training, competition exposure, coaching, and athlete welfare, all of which are essential pillars for sustained high-performance and consistent participation in international qualification events.
Tennis player Angella Okutoyi, the 2023 African Games champion, has already made a strong statement at the start of the 2026 season after clinching the W35 ITF Singles title and improving her ITF Singles Ranking to 868 as of 05 January 2026. The scholarship follows her narrow miss in qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she fell short by the smallest of margins. With her focus now firmly on Los Angeles 2028, Okutoyi is determined to make history as the first Kenyan tennis player to qualify for and represent the country at the Olympic Games.
Fencer Alexandra Ndolo will be working towards representing Kenya at the Olympic Games for a second time after already making history as the first fencer to compete for the country at the Games. As she targets LA 2028, Ndolo will be aiming to build on her experience and improve on her previous Olympic performance.
Shooter Priscilla Mburu Wangui, the 2023 African Air Rifle silver medallist, faces a renewed challenge as she seeks to become only the second shooter to represent Kenya at the Olympic Games. Having gone through the Paris 2024 qualification pathway, she will look to draw from that experience as she prepares for the road to LA 2028.
Swimmers Sara Faustyna Mose and Haniel Maindi Bwaku Kudwoli are also among the scholarship recipients as they continue to pursue Olympic qualification, while beach wrestler Mahabila Mathayo Matonya, a bronze medallist at the 2023 Africa Beach Wrestling Championships, will use the support to enhance his preparation and international exposure. Weightlifters Joshua Amunga Mboya and Juliana Anyango Ongonga complete the list of beneficiaries, underscoring NOCK’s commitment to supporting talent across a diverse range of sporting disciplines.
Speaking during the launch, NOCK President Shadrack Maluki said the Individual Athlete Scholarship Programme reflects the Committee’s deliberate shift towards early, structured, and sustainable athlete preparation.
“This programme is a clear demonstration of our athlete-centred approach as NOCK. We are intentionally investing in individual athletes who have shown the potential, discipline, and commitment required to compete at the highest level. Through our partnership with Olympic Solidarity, we are ensuring that our athletes receive the support they need during the most critical years of their Olympic qualification journey. Our goal is not just participation, but meaningful representation and improved performance for Team Kenya at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”
The launch of the NOC-K Individual Athlete Scholarship Programme reaffirms NOCK’s commitment to strengthening Kenya’s Olympic pipeline through strategic partnerships, long-term planning, and targeted investment in athletes capable of making history on the world’s biggest sporting stage.