By OUR CORRESPONDENT
Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) President James Waindi today donated several pairs of shoes to the National Paralympics team currently training for the Glasgow, Commonwealth Games at the Kasarani Stadium.
The shoes are donations the association received from Japanese marathoner and philanthropist Chiaki Morikawa who is lending a hand to Kenya’s next generation of runners through a new partnership with the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK).
Through her Tokyo-based organisation, Wayz Running, Morikawa is donating training and competition shoes to underprivileged Kenyan athletes. SJAK distributed the shoes on her behalf as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.
“As SJAK, we introduced CSR activities last year, and this time round we chose to give these shoes to the para athletes and power lifters currently in camp preparing for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The shoes are of good quality and meant for training and running, they will go a long way in helping the underprivileged athletes train well and achieve their goals,” said SJAK President James Waindi as he donated the shoes.
Neema Stency who will be running 100m at the Commonwealth Games, said: “I’m so happy for this donation because these shoes will make a big impact on my training, as they are of very good quality and meant for training.”
Bhaveet Chudasama, the General Team Manager for the Paralympics Team taking part at the Commonwealth Games said the donation had boosted the team’s morale and motivated the athletes, as the shoes would enhance their training.
Morikawa, the CEO of Wayz Running, founded the organisation to support women runners in Japan across multiple areas including physiotherapy, to help them reach their potential. She continues to compete in the 1500m, 5000m, half marathons and full marathons.
The 38-year-old went into semi-retirement in 2018 after deciding she wanted to do more for the community.
Her personal bests include 4:12.75 over 1500m set in Osaka in 2016, 15:36.66 for 5000m in Yokohama in 2013, and a marathon best of 2:35:06 at the 2022 Tokyo Marathon. She also ran 2:37:25 at this year’s Tokyo Marathon on March 1, and 1:22:37 at the Medio Maraton Internacional de Coban in Guatemala on May 31.
Morikawa has a strong connection to Kenya. She finished 9th overall at the Bangsaen21 Half Marathon in Chon Buri, Thailand, on Dec. 18, 2022, in a race won by Kenyan Helen Obiri. She counts several Kenyan runners among her friends, including Rosemary Monica Wanjiru, one of the fastest women in marathon history with a personal best of 2:16:14. Wanjiru won the 2025 Berlin Marathon and the 2023 Tokyo Marathon.
“The reason why I started this donation project is that one of my teammates in Japan was training barefoot,” Morikawa said. “By looking at that I decided that I will help Kenyan children and athletes become better athletes. By having this type of shoes, I believe that everybody will have a bright future and bring them close to their dreams, and I am glad to be the supporter of that movement.”
She added that she is working with several organisations in Kenya, including the County Government of Kajiado led by Governor Joseph Ole Lenku, to support needy children to compete in the Amboseli Marathon in March next year.
Morikawa said she hopes to run the Amboseli Marathon herself.
