Go Kenya! Run like the wind, conquer London Olympics

The Olympics are here with us again. It is the ultimate stage where any sportsman aspires to be, which explains why there has been a media frenzy over the build-up across the sport spectrum.

Kenyan athletes have shown their zeal and determination, picking off from where they left in Daegu  World Championships last year to rule the roost in international competition in the middle and long distance events.

The road races as usual, have seen Kenyans dominate in the spring marathons in USA and Europe. It is  fulfilling for the country as it once again prepares to bask in the glory of the Olympics in London as was the case in Beijing four years ago where we scooped 16 medals – six gold, four silver, four bronze.

That was Kenya’s best show in the games’ history and the Late Samuel Wanjiru’s triumphant entry into the bird’s nest stadium to win the marathon, the last event of the Olympics, saw the world stand up to applaud as Kenya’s national anthem was recited before the official closure of the Beijing Olympics.

Local athletics and Olympics officials have since gone to the drawing board hoping to capitalise on this goodwill. A special long distance camp has been set up in Eldoret to battle for Olympics slots.

Can Kenya end the 44-year-old jinx and win Kenya a gold medal in the longest track race and equal Naftali Temu’s display in Mexico City Games in 1968, the last stage Kenya flourished in the 10,000m.

Wanjiru’s throne

Men marathoners are also angling to find the heir to the throne occupied by Wanjiru. The women, on the other hand, will be keen to go a step further than the silver medal Catherine Ndereba attained in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

However, caution should be taken in middle distance races where the biggest threat will emerge.

The national trials next week in Nairobi might just be a formality to them. But they need to engage their best gear, higher than their current display at the Diamond League meetings, to deny the world from creeping in and steal the limelight underneath their feet.