Chris Brown tips Kenya to do well in sprints

4X400m Olympic champion Chris Brown of Bahamas

Olympic 4x400m champion and world indoor 400m silver medallist Chris Brown believes Kenya has what it takes to perform well in the short distance races.

In an interview with Feverpitch ahead of the second edition of the IAAF/BTC World Relays yesterday, in his native country, Bahamas, the sprinter urged Kenyans to draw inspiration from their 2010 Commonwealth Games relay team.

“I have been a runner for a long time and I have seen Kenyans succeed before. From my own perceptions, they need to go back to the basics and let it flow. I think they stand a great chance to do well here.

I saw them win the Commonwealth games in Delhi, so that shows they can become a force to reckon with,” said Brown. “But they should stay humble, angry and keep God first. That’s the best recipe. Let everybody gel, be on same page and have a leader for the team. One’s success is based on strong leaderships and guys should follow and take orders.”

Meanwhile, Lamine Diack, the President of International Association of Athletics Federations has heaped praise on Bahamas for hosting a successful IAAF/BTC World Relays in its first year.

The second edition which started yesterday has attracted star sprinters like six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt and American Allyson Felix. “Last year we witnessed a wonderfully successful event, a colourful festival of athletics which was topped by three world records,” Diack told journalists during a pre-event press conference on Friday.

“The creation of the IAAF World Relays is the latest example of athletics’ continued evolution as a sport. The IAAF is especially pleased that this exciting new competition has found a natural home in The Bahamas, a nation with a rich and successful history in the relays.”

“Success is a powerful magnet and we are therefore delighted this year the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt will be competing.”

The Senegalese also announced that the Atlantic Coastal archipelago will again host the third edition of the event in 2017.

“Bahamians have enthusiastically taken the World Relays to their hearts. We are therefore delighted that The Bahamas will also be the hosts for the next edition which takes place in two years’ time in 2017.”