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Let's redeem ourselves in Birmingham

Living
 Bronze medalist Conseslus Kipruto, of Kenya, is carried after the men's 3000-meter steeplechase final at the World Athletics Championships on Monday, July 18, 2022, in Eugene, Oregon. [AP Photo]

There are key lessons for Kenya at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA. The games end on Monday with crucial talking points for Kenya’s athletics fraternity.

Kenyan fans are right to question inadequate government support to athletics. As a country, we have neglected the goose that lays the eggs. Why are we losing in disciplines that were once our strongholds? Have we stopped nurturing raw talents and just sitting on our laurels?

Old-fashioned coaching skills have been raised as a contributing factor to the decline. Why can’t we adopt modern methods and invest more resources in this goldmine that has given Kenya prominence globally for decades?

For instance, why were there no Kenyan physiotherapists for our athletes in Oregon? This casual treatment of our world-beaters has demoralised current and upcoming athletes.  

Still, our athletes can produce better performance if they embrace teamwork. It was heartbreaking to watch Kenyan men miss out in the medal bracket in the marathon. Yet we rule the well-heeled big city marathons around the globe. The same script reads in the men’s 1500m, where despite fielding defending champion Timothy Cheruiyot and Abel Kipsang, who went into the championship as the fastest man in the race this season, we still failed to win a medal.

Athletics Kenya must get back to the drawing board with all stakeholders and come up with a winning strategy to reclaim our dominance in events like 1500m, 3,000m steeplechase and the marathon. It should be a sober discussion even as we gnash our teeth at the disappointment in Oregon. But there are some positives from Oregon that the Commonwealth Games squad heading to Birmingham, United Kingdom, can pick.

Admittedly, we have a history of poor performances held in US. At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, we managed only one gold medal through Julius Korir, then one Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, through Joseph Keter.

But we must be proud of Faith Chepngétich, Hellen Obiri, Margaret Chelimo, Judith Korir, Conseslus Kipruto and Stanley Mburu. They exhibited bravery and determination in their battle for medals.

No one including seasoned athletics commentators and coaches could place their bet on 22-year-old Stanely Mburu in 10,000m contest. But he battled Uganda’s two-time world champion Joshua Cheptegei with determination. 

Such heroic achievements should give us a reason to look forward to the future with optimism. The Commonwealth Games, which starts off next week, gives us a perfect opportunity to redeem our athletics image.

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