Kenyan star Chepchumba reflects on gains of Volleyball Empowerment programme, eyes Paris Olympics

With just over 500 days to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Kenyan volleyball player Sharon “Chumba” Chepchumba already sees herself starring at next year’s Games.

Chepchumba, 24, was part of the Kenyan team during the delayed Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 where they finished 12th after bowing out at the preliminary stage. Kenya was placed in Pool A at Tokyo 2020, alongside world champions Serbia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Korea and hosts Japan.

Despite losing all their matches, the Tokyo edition was a significant turning point for Kenyan women’s volleyball. It not only marked the end of a 16 year wait for an appearance at the Olympics, but also the first time that the FIVB sent coaching support to the national team, as part of a Volleyball Empowerment programme pilot project.

The Kenya team participated in a 90-day high-performance training camp in Kenya with elite Brazilian coaches led by Head Coach Luizomar de Moura to further enhance their technical performance ahead of the Games. The investment was part of a multi-stakeholder approach between the FIVB, Kenya Volleyball Federation, National Olympic Committee of Kenya, Kenya’s Ministry of Sports and Olympic Solidarity.

The impact of the camp was felt at the Olympics where Kenya in some matches led their opponents in set scores and was very close to winning a set for the first time at the Olympic Games.

“It was my first time playing at the Olympics and it was an eye opener. Pushing Japan and Korea made me realise that we could not only win a set at that level but also a game if we push ourselves accordingly. Our performance in those two matches changed the mentality of the team,” remarked Chepchumba who scored an impressive 59 points in five matches in Tokyo.

She bettered this tally at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship 2022 in the Netherlands, where she returned 66 points and guided Kenya – who prepared for the global competition in Sao Paulo, Brazil for three months courtesy of the Volleyball Empowerment programme – to Kenya’s best ever performance in tournament history, finishing 19th out of 24 teams. Notably she scored a game-high 18 points in the straight sets victory over rivals Cameroon before once again top scoring with 17 points against Volleyball Nations League (VNL) champions Italy.

“The Brazil camp really helped me take my career to the next level. Interacting with experienced Brazilian players some of whom had played in the Olympic Games like twice made me understand what it takes to excel at a high level both on and off the court,” Chepchumba told FIVB.com.

“Seeing how they worked extra hard in the gym and how they conducted themselves off the court helped me see volleyball in a different dimension. Working with experienced coaches through Volleyball Empowerment has also shaped my path to professional volleyball,” added Chepchumba who joined Greek club Aris Thessaloniki shortly after the World Championship.

Aris are currently ranked eighth on the league standings with 18 points, 23 behind leaders PAOK but Chepchumba is the division’s top scorer with an impressive 389 points drawn from 15 matches.

“When I watch some of my past videos, I see a different player. Before I used a lot of power in attack but now I’m more tactical. Various aspects of my game improved in Brazil and now I am polishing them by playing regularly in the Greek league which is really competitive. I can score through blocks and serve, not just attack,” said Chepchumba who has featured in all league matches so far.

The Kenyan opposite is now looking forward to the Qualification Tournament for Paris 2024 scheduled later this year.

“I want to show my talent to the world in Paris and let them know that this is not the Chumba you knew in Tokyo. I want to show that anybody can improve if you focus and put in the hard work. I believe it’s not me alone but the whole team,” said Chepchumba.

She has backed Kenya to do well in the qualifiers citing their impressive World Championship 2022 campaign as evidence of growth under Brazilian coach Luizomar de Moura.

“The mentality in the team has changed, we can now approach the big teams with confidence and compete against the best players in the world. The junior players are also eager to play which brings healthy competition for places in the team.

“I watched all the matches during the playoffs of the Kenyan league last month,

and I was impressed by the talent back home. It’s now up to the players to step out of their comfort zones. I believe if we all work hard to improve ourselves at individual level then Kenya is going to be a global force two years from now,” she underlined.