By Michael Chepkwony
Athletes training for for the London Olympics in the Rift Valley have complained about the poor state of stadiums in the area.
Head coach Julius Kirwa was miffed by the state of Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Kapsabet.
Kirwa protested that it was a shame that the stadium which had
produced many international athletes was in such a mess.
Kirwa said: "The toilets cannot be used because they are in a pathetic state and the field is full of livestock droppings."
"The stadium which is 1,800m above sea level is the
best for training the national team compared to Chepkoilel Stadium in Eldoret, which is 2,100m above sea level. There is need to improve the place since more athletes will be coming to train here in the next three weeks," said Kirwa.
The perimeter fence of Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Kapsabet, which was built in 1958 by the colonial government, has collapsed and has not been repaired to date.
The plan to train athletes in Kapsabet was arrived at because of the high altitude and athletes would be camping in town for their
trainings on Tuesday and Friday.
Following Kirwaâs complaint, a delegation of Athletics Kenya (AK) and National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) flew to Eldoret yesterday to monitor the situation.
Among those who flew to Eldoret were AK chairman Isaiah Kiplagat, his Nock counterpart Kipchoge Keino and their respective team members.
Earlier, Nandi Central District Commissioner Ahmed Abdullahi had accused the Kapsabet Municipal and county councils of delaying the process of acquiring title deed for the stadium land.
However, Kapsabet Municipal Council clerk Hammed Dore told FeverPitch that the title deed was being processed and would be handed to Kipchoge Keino so that he can spearhead the renovation as he had promised.
