BY JONATHAN KOMEN
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| Yusuf Saad Kamel (Gregory Konchellah, right) during the 2009 Berlin World Championships; |
A decade ago, there was a massive exodus of Kenyan athletes to the Gulf nations – Qatar and Bahrain.
The world beating stars attributed their change of citizenship to lack of compensatory remuneration from the Government. Slightly more than a decade now, the athletes who attracted hefty pay in the oil-rich nations have returned to their motherland and now go about their business as they no longer run.
The most famous were Qatari’s world 3,000m steeplechase record holder Saif Saaeed Shaheen, formerly Stephen Cherono, and Musa Amer Obaid (formerly Moses Kipkurui), who live in Eldoret. Shaheen, an alumnus of Sergoit Secondary in Keiyo North, does farming and lives in the upmarket Elgon View estate in Eldoret.
This is despite the fact that he received a lifetime monthly wage of $5,000, and $250,000 if he wins a world championships or Olympic gold medal for his adopted nation.
These stars were given Qatari names and offered lucrative deals and sponsored to train in Iten and Eldoret since Qatar is blessed with oil riches but its climate is unsuited for athletics training.
Their high altitude in Alberqueque, USA, and Sty Moritz in Switzerland was wholly funded by the Emirate.
They lived in expensive hotels, led lavish lifestyles and bought top of the range SUV cars. Most of them did large-scale farming that perhaps compromised their training programmes.
This lifestyle and injuries common in top level competition, may have contributed to their dip in performances at major global competitions.
Shaheen did not pick our calls or even respond to Short Message Texts (sms). But his manager, Ricky Simms, told us he is training.
“Both Albert and Stephen are still training. Both had injury issues in recent years. Albert ran 2:08 in Hamburg marathon in 2012,” said Simms of Pace Sports Management.
Musa Amer Obaid (formerly Moses Kipkurui) was reportedly recruited in the Qatari Defence Forces.
“These athletes, especially the Qatari’s, performed poorly in international races, which raised many questions in their adopted nations,” said a source close to Shaheen, who declined to be named. At the Gulf, infighting emerged and they became bitter rivals. As a result, the Qatari authorities are said to have demanded all their “imports” to join the military against their wishes, which saw most of them return home.
The athletes could not get travel visas to compete in races abroad and, most of them, have not competed abroad for almost three years. But Barnaba Korir, the Nairobi region AK chairman, who manages some of the Bahrain runners, among them, Belal Mansur Ali (John Yego) and former world 800m champion Yusuf Saad Kamel, Gregory Konchella, said the Bahrain athletes ran in the IAAF Permit Meeting/ national cross-country championships in Nairobi eight days ago.
“There is nothing bad with athlete sticking to adopted nation or even coming back since our constitution allows dual citizenship,” said Korir.
Shaheen,James Kwalia and Albert Chepkurui (Abdullah Ahmed Hassan) are the only athletes who defected to Qatar who won medals at global competitions.
Shaheen won two world (3,000m SC) titles, Kwalia won bronze in 5,000m at the world championships in Berlin in 2009, while Chepkurui bagged bronze medal at the 2005 World cross-country championships.
Chepkurui, an old boy of Lelboinet Secondary in Keiyo South and Salim Belal (Raymond Katui) switched their allegiance to the Gulf. Then came the migration of Kipchumba Koima, a cousin of world 3,000m record holder Daniel Komen and George Sirma, who were schoolmates with Musa Amer Obaid (Moses Kipkurui) at Kitany Boys.
