Disappointment marks day one of the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing
Athletics
By
JONATHAN KOMEN
| Aug 23, 2015
Kenyans were disappointed with the poor show by the men’s marathon team at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing yesterday.
Gloom was evident as athletes and fans gathered in various joints in Eldoret to watch the 10,000m final later in the day, and again, Britain’s Mo Farah pulled a fast one on Kenyans.
But the most disappointing statement that spread across the athletics-mad Eldoret town came from the marathon commentator: “It’s an East African affair finally, but without a Kenyan in the podium,” he said as the race ended.
Timothy Cherigat, the 2004 Boston Marathon winner, absolved the athletes from blame and instead blamed Athletics Kenya’s selection criteria.
“They picked guys who have run sub 2:03 and did not bother to know the climatic conditions in China. And they should remember that competing in a championships is quite different from big city marathons,” Cherigat said.
That means Kenya has not win a medal in men’s marathon at the World Championships twice, after failing in Moscow in 2013.
“There is a difference between running for money and running for glory or national pride. Championships simply mean competing for glory and it is difficult to bring an athlete with huge endorsements in big races to such championships,” he said.
Eritrea’s 19-year-old Ghirmay Ghebreslassie won the first World Championships gold medal for his nation, taking the men’s marathon title on a day when more favoured runners wilted in the sun.
He becomes another famous runner after Zersenay Tadesse, silver medallist behind Kenenisa Bekele in the 10,000m at the 2009 World Championships.
In two hours 12 minutes and 27 seconds on the streets of Beijing, Ghebreslassie surpassed Tadesse in terms of World Championships medals.
“The young man went to Beijing longing for glory and he remained focused despite the hot climatic conditions. AK should assess climatic conditions and see if it fits all our athletes,” said Cherigat.
Collins Tanui, a road racer, said AK should have picked the team from those athletes who have performed well in hot weather conditions.
“They should have opted for those who competed in Dubai or in China,” he said.
Sammy Rono, one of the AK coaches, congratulated Geoffrey Kamworor, Paul Tanui and Bedan Karoki for their efforts in the 10,000 metres.
“These young men did their best. Mo Farah struggled and I hope his reign is coming to an end,” he said.