The 2014
Maasai Olympics took place in mid-December, hosted at Kimana Sanctuary in Kajaido, Kenya. Organized and sanctioned by
Big Life Foundation, the
Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, worked together with a number of other supporters, sponsors, and and contributors in collaboration to bring together warriors of
Kuku,
Rombo,
Mbirikani, and
Olgulului Group Ranches to compete in six different events; rungu throwing, spear throwing, high jump, 200 m sprint, 800 m sprint, and 5 kilometre run.
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| A moran competes in the high jump competition |
The sole purpose of the Maasai Olympics is not only to provide the current warrior age set with a platform to
compete with their peers, but more importantly, to emphasize an
alternative to the traditional practice of
proving manhood -
lion killing. This platform was provided to the warriors to utilize
traditional skills to "
hunt for medals, not for lions".
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| Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals |
The first competition in 2012 was deemed a
huge success, and 2014 was certainly an exciting competition!
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| Participants of the 5000m competition |
The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust
sponsored the
1st position of the
5000m and
800m to participate in the New York Marathon. The 5000m was a very tense competition... as
Kuku was for a large part of the race in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th position. In the last 300m a moran from
Mbirikani who was in the 2nd position overtook the Kuku runner and ended up winning the race!
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| Samson handing over cheque to the winning moran to participate in the 2015 New York Marathon |
Overall score of the Olympics:
1st position Mbirikani Manyatta with 16.5 points;
2nd position Olgulului Manyatta with 7.5 points;
3rd position was Kuku Manyatta with 7 points (very close call between 2nd and 3rd position) and in the
4th position was Rombo Manyatta with 5 points total.
Kuku was proudly in the 1st position for Javelin (spear) throwing!
It was an excellent day filled with an extraordinary display of
skill,
competition,
cooperation, and
commitment to conservation. To learn more about this tremendous event, you can visit the official Maasai Olympics website
here
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| MWCT Ranger with David Rudisha - Kenyan Gold Medalist |
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| The Scoreboard |
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