Nairobi County has reclaimed the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) overall championship trophy after a dominant display at the 2026 national games held in Kisumu from 21 to 27 June, topping the final standings with 14 gold medals, 11 silver and nine bronze across 22 disciplines.
The capital county edged out defending champions Uasin Gishu — who finished with 12 gold medals — and a resurgent Nakuru County, which claimed third place with nine gold, its best finish in over a decade. A total of 47 counties participated in this year’s edition, with more than 12,000 student athletes competing at venues spread across the lakeside city.
Athletics and Ball Games Drive Nairobi’s Dominance
Nairobi’s athletes excelled particularly in track and field and team ball games. The county swept the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints at Kisumu’s Moi Stadium, with Lavington High School’s Faith Wangari producing the standout individual performance of the week — a 11.34-second 100m final that drew a standing ovation and marked her as one of the most promising junior sprinters in East Africa.
In football, St Mary’s School Nairobi retained the boys’ title for the third successive year, defeating Kakamega High School 2-1 in an absorbing final. The Nairobi girls’ basketball team also triumphed, overcoming Eldoret’s Moi Girls 58-44 in a high-tempo contest refereed under Basketball Africa League youth rules for the first time at the schools games level.
“This victory belongs to the students, the teachers and the parents who invested in these young people,” said Nairobi County Education Executive Janet Mugo at the closing ceremony attended by Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Ogamba. “We have been deliberate about funding school sports infrastructure, and results like this are the dividend.”
Record Entries and New Disciplines
KSSSA Secretary General Charles Mwangi confirmed that this year’s edition recorded the highest-ever participant count since the games were established in 1968. Two new disciplines — 3×3 basketball and para-athletics — were introduced, with para-athletics attracting 214 student competitors from 31 counties, a figure that organisers described as exceeding all expectations.
Coast Region’s representation improved markedly following investments in school sports under President Ruto’s administration’s Sh4.5 billion school infrastructure programme announced in the 2025/2026 budget. Mombasa County claimed two gold medals in swimming, its first since 2019, while Kilifi took gold in the boys’ volleyball tournament.
The games were also notable for their digital upgrade. Results were transmitted via a live portal powered by Safaricom’s 5G network, enabling parents and sports enthusiasts across the country to track standings in real time — a first for the event. More than 1.2 million page views were recorded during the seven-day tournament, according to KSSSA data shared at the closing ceremony.
Talent Pipeline for 2028 Olympics
Athletics Kenya chairman Jack Tuwei, who attended the finals day, said the games remained the country’s single most important talent identification platform ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. “We have scouts here from our national federation, from World Athletics and from several university programmes in the United States,” Tuwei said. “The depth of talent we are seeing this year gives us real confidence about Kenya’s medal prospects in Los Angeles.”
Seventeen athletes from the 2026 games have already been flagged for inclusion in the national junior training programme, including Wangari, long-distance runner Emmanuel Kibet of Nandi County, and swimmer Amina Hassan from Mombasa, who broke the national schools record in the 200m freestyle.
The 2027 KSSSA games are scheduled to be held in Mombasa, with the coastal county already lobbying to use the recently refurbished Mama Ngina Waterfront sports facilities as additional competition venues.
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