Kelvin Kiarie, now a new household name following his win in the International Skating Challenge in Cairo Egypt, has captured the heart of the nation. Competing as a solo representative for Kenya, the 27-year-old structural engineer secured a gold medal in the freestyle category.
His victory shows a significant improvement from the previously participated 2025 Inline Freestyle World Championship in Singapore, where he placed 18th globally. He since put in more effort and passion despite lacking coaches or government sponsorship. This year, in April, Kiarie travelled by bus to the airport and then to Benin and competed in the International Challenge Cotonou Speed and Inline Freestyle Challenge. This required him to make the difficult decision to use his daughter’s fee to fund his trip. He garnered a gold in the freestyle and a silver in the classic slalom.
Pictures of him standing alone on the podium with the Kenyan flag high, drew the attention of Kenyans , who pooled their resources together and raised over 200, 000 to fund his Cairo trip. There, he was met and supported by fellow Kenyans. Kiarie is a testament that one can achieve what they want by power of individual will. He stands as both a source of national pride and a champion.