Excitement as Serena Williams' Daughter Seen Wearing Kenyan Bracelet
While in Paris, France, for the 2024 Olympics, Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian shared several heartwarming moments involving their 7-year old daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian and her excitement at being at the premier games.
In one of the videos shared, one hawk-eyed fan noticed something peculiar around the wrist of the young Ohanian - the all-too-popular Kenyan flag wristband.
Taking to X, she pointed it out to the senior Ohanian, wondering if she was actually right in her observation.
South Africa-based Kenyan Winnie Njuguna asked, "Where did she get this wristband? Looks like beadwork of the Kenyan flag..."
Quickly, Ohanian responded, confirming Njuguna's queries while also revealing that his daughter was gifted the bracelet by Kenyan players who she was 'very excited' to meet.
"From some Kenyan players! She was so excited to meet them and ask for their pin (and they gave her an even better upgrade with that bracelet!)" he answered.
Confirming the wild popularity of the item, film producer Faith Koli recounted her little experience with the bracelet, adding that kids away from Kenya have always been enamoured by the bracelet, especially after Kenya rides high at any athletic event.
"Kids away from home are really fascinated by these Kenyan bracelets. The athletics team kids in a former school we were in would come looking for my kid to ask if she could get them the bracelet especially if a Kenyan won a marathon race. We have handed out dozens of them!" she wrote under Ohanian's tweet.
The Kenyan bracelet has long become something of a global phenomenon with many top athletes and celebrities wearing it in various missions, attracting widespread admiration too.
At the 2020 Tokyo games, US Olympian Sarah Sponcil was gifted the bracelet by her Kenyan counterparts. So cherished was the gift that, when US-based Christian charitable organisation World Concern announced a long-term partnership with Sponcil for humanitarian work to help fight poverty worldwide, she chose Kenya as her first stop.
The Kenyan bracelet has also saved lives - literally.
During a past visit to the Mandela House in Soweto, South Africa, renowned Kenyan journalist Sharon Barang'a found herself lost in the slum at a time when xenophobic tensions were high in the country.
“I was scared of speaking out because there was some xenophobic tension, so I was thinking if I speak out, they can tell I am not South African. Because of that bracelet, another Kenyan lady spotted me, called me over, and helped me find my way back to my hotel,” Sharon recounted.
