It’s not all doom and gloom, says Rudisha’s coach Colm

Kenyans are concerned that a second report to be released today by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) could lead to the country’s suspension from international sports.

Bro Colm O’Connell, who coaches elite athletes including Olympics 800m champion and world record holder, David Rudisha, however, dismissed such suggestions as “speculative”, arguing that although doping exists in Kenya, it is not systemic.

He urged the athletics fraternity to look at the problems positively because “out of all this, something good will come out.”

“Of course I am concerned. Every Kenyan who is in this sport should be concerned after we have seen what happened to Russia. We are asking... Is it going be the case with Kenya? Are we going the same route?” Bro Colm said in Eldoret early this week.

Wada is due to release the second state of the doping report today, which is feared may touch on many other countries, including Kenya. The first report was released in November that led to the suspension of Russia from all international competitions, including the Olympic games due to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, later this year.

“Doping in Kenya, in all probability, is not systemic. It is not organised in a formal way or at the top. There are only individual cases that could have been handled in a better way. We are hoping that this will be our saving card,” Bro Colm said.

“As a coach of elite athletes, and especially of David Rudisha, if this cloud of doping is going to hang over us as we approach Rio (Olympics), then the Games will be secondary to the competition.

Bro Colm said coaches put a lot of effort in the development of athletes, and the current situation is a huge concern to them.

“The general public will be doubting the credibility of our athletes when they start winning medals in Rio or anywhere else. We should head to Rio when we are absolutely clean and above board. Commentators should not think that a Kenyan athlete will have won a medal under dubious circumstances,” he said.

“We hope to get a fair hearing when the time comes. This issue has kept us on the edge and a lot of people are demoralised. Athletics is among the few success stories and when it takes such a beating, the morale of the entire country goes a notch or two down.

“But out of all this, something good will come. The medicine is always bitter. It is not all doom and gloom. I can see light at the end of the tunnel. But somebody has to switch on that light,” he said.

“We expect that reports from (Wada) investigations will tell us who and how many people are involved in doping and also to what extent? Is it systemic, to what extent are authorities or athletes involved, or is it just individual cases,” he said.