Let’s reclaim lost glory in athletics

For 18 years, Kenya has not won gold medal in men’s 10,000m at the IAAF World Athletics Championships – Charles Kamathi last won it in Edmonton, Canada in 2001. The late Naftali Temu stands out as the only Kenyan to have won gold at the Olympic Games in 1968 in Mexico City.

Almost a similar script reads through in 5,000m, where Benjamin Limo was the last Kenyan to win gold at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland in 2005. There has been a steady decline in performance in the two races over the years, even as neighbours Ethiopia and Britain’s Mo Farah run the show.

Poor performances have also been witnessed in Commonwealth Games, Africa Athletics Championships and the African Games (formerly All Africa Games).

The threat of poor performance is too real even as teams prepare for the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar that run from September 28 to October 6. On Tuesday, Ethiopians fired warning shots at the African Games that concludes today in Rabat, Morocco.

Berehanu Wendemu and Jemale Yimer Mekonnen of Ethiopia bagged gold and bronze medals, as Eritrea’s Aron Teklu settled for silver. Edwin Soi, the 2008 Olympic 5,000m bronze medalist finished fourth, while Olympic 10,000m silver medalist Paul Tanui and Charles Mneria did not finish the race.

That is a pointer to what to expect at the World Championships in Doha. In that gunpowder, there is Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo, who have always beaten Kenyans. It’s high time Athletics Kenya coaches came up with a strategy to address our dimming performance on the global stage.