Olympics boycott call is the height of skewed leadership

Arriving at sunset with a badly bruised knee and dislocated joint, long after other athletes had crossed the finish line during the 1968 Mexico Olympics, Tanzanian Marathon runner John Stephen Akhwari, was asked why he continued running.

He said: "My country did not send me 10,000 miles just to start the race; they sent me to finish the race."

It was a humbling response, one which summed up a famous quote by the founder of modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, who said: "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well."

It has nothing to do with politics. Yet this week we were treated to sickening pronouncements by a section of politicians, purporting to speak on behalf of the Kalenjin community. They said they would advise athletes against participating in the London Olympics to force the International Criminal Court to delay proceedings against William Ruto and other suspects.

One of the most respected personalities of our time, Dr Kipchoge Keino is the chairman of the Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) and is from the Kalenjin community. Keino has unselfishly devoted his entire life to developing talent, which has gone on to bring honour to Kenya.

Today, Nock is raising funds, pulling together corporates to fund the Olympic mission come August in London. The support is overwhelming because of what Keino stands for: That sports is one of the things that unite us as a country.

ultimate test

Sadly, some individuals now want to infect sports with the cancerous tribal card. Luckily though, it would be unfair also to think that patriotic athletes would fall for this cheap talk.

Our world-beaters are by far schooled in thought and action to know better than some self-seeking personalities. These athletes know, as Mary Lou Retton, once put it: "For athletes, the Olympics are the ultimate test of their worth."

Dawn Fraser, Australian three- time swimming winner of Olympic Games, too, contends that: "The Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself."

Such is the spirit of Olympics that politicians trying to poison the minds of our treasured athletes should be aware of.