US President Donald Trump has praised Kenyan athletes, noting their strong performances at past Olympic Games.
Speaking on Thursday, December 4, Trump revealed that he has followed Kenyan runners for many years and continues to admire their success.
He added that the United States will be hosting the Olympics and extended an invitation to Kenya.
"The President of Kenya, we have the Olympics here. They do very well in the Olympics, those runners. I don't know what you do with them. They are very good.
"I have been watching them for a long time. We have the Olympics coming to the U.S, and you will come as our guest," he said.
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This comes days after Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Edmund Serem and Sabastian Sawe were recognised for their outstanding campaigns during the 2025 season at the World Athletics Awards 2025.
Wanyonyi was crowned Men’s Track Athlete of the Year after capping a spectacular season with a gold medal in the men’s 800 metres at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025.
He powered to victory in a championship record 1:41.86.
Notably, throughout the year, Wanyonyi dominated the circuit, winning multiple 800m Diamond League races, including Oslo, and posting four of the top six times globally, highlighted by a world-leading 1:41.44 in Monaco.
Sawe, meanwhile, was honoured as Men’s Out-of-Stadium Athlete of the Year after a sensational breakthrough in the marathon.
In April, he won the 2025 London Marathon in 2:02:27, his first marathon major.
He followed that up with a commanding victory at the 2025 Berlin Marathon in September, posting a world-leading time of 2:02:16.
Young steeplechaser Edmund Serem captured hearts and attention when he was named the Men’s Rising Star of the Year.
At just 17, Serem clinched the bronze medal in the men’s 3000 metre steeplechase at the Tokyo world championships.
Kenya’s Olympic journey began at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
Over the decades, Kenya has accumulated 124 Olympic medals, all coming from athletics and boxing, with athletics delivering an overwhelming 117.
The country’s dominance in middle and long-distance running has become a defining hallmark, with Kenyan athletes winning 21 of the 30 medals ever contested in that event.
Although political boycotts kept Kenya out of the 1976 and 1980 Games, the nation rebounded powerfully in subsequent editions.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics remain the country’s most successful outing, producing 16 medals, including six golds.
Strong performances continued with 13 medals at both London 2012 and Rio 2016, the latter featuring an impressive balance of six gold, six silver and one bronze.
Earlier highlights, such as the nine-medal hauls in 1968 and 1972, laid the foundation for Kenya’s reputation as a long-distance powerhouse.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kenya secured 11 medals, four gold, two silver and five bronze, finishing 17th globally and once again emerging as Africa’s top nation.
Women have played an increasingly central role in Kenya’s Olympic success, most notably at the 2016 Rio Games, where they contributed seven of the country’s 13 medals.
