Stars strive to emulate their fathers on the track: Athletics blood Asbel and David Rudisha surpassed their dads' records but Kipchoge Keino set the bar too high for his son Martin

DANIEL RUDISHA ON THE TRACK SEPT 1967.jpg

For some Kenyan households, running is an inherited cash crop.

Kenya’s athletics scene revolves around a hereditary track, with pioneers passing on the athletic mantle to their children.

But it’s interesting to note that some of the sons surpassed their father’s shows while others could not beat their parents’ records.

From legendary Kipchoge Keino to Martin Keino, Olympian Elkana Nyang’au to Walter Moenga, Daniel Rudisha to David Rudisha, David Kebenei to Asbel Kiprop, Billy Konchella to Bahrains’s Gregory Konchella, all cut a picture of the generational change in Kenyan athletics – and either by design or coincidence picked up their parents’ races.

Majority of the “second generation athletes” improved on their parents’ records while some couldn’t make it since their fathers raised the bar too high.

World 800m record holder David Rudisha during his training sessaion at Moi International Sport Centre, Kasarani on July 25, 2017 ahead of IAAF London World Championships. [Dennis Okeyo, Standard]

Incidentally, most of these athletes picked up their father’s races.

Kipchoge, the first Kenyan to win Olympic gold medal in 1968 in Mexico City, is the father of Martin Keino, who did not perform well in competitive running and stood out as a career pace setter.

“Dad encouraged me when I showed interest in athletics. Unfortunately, he set the bar too high that I could not beat. I appreciate the fact that he did not put too much pressure on me to perform,” Martin said.

The late Some Muge, who was Kenya’s first medalist at the World Cross Country championships in 1983, was the father of cross country runners Mathew Kisorio, Peter Kimeli and Nicholas Togom.

Martin Keino

“We were young when our father was an active athlete. We only saw his pictures hanging on the walls at home. But we were encouraged by his age mates who usually identify us as Arap Some (the son of Some). That really motivated us,” Kisorio said.

The late Some Muge’s siblings are identical in a number of ways.

They all attended schools that are known for performing well in athletics and, like their father, started off as 10,000m and cross country runners.

Athletics - Semifinal - Men's 1500m Semifinals - Olympic Stadium - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 18/08/2016. Taoufik Asbel Kiprop (KEN) of Kenya competes. REUTERS

Kisorio and Kimeli attended Kosirai Boys High School, which had top cream athletes among them Commonwealth Games 1,500m champion James Magut and Olympic 3,000m steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto.

Togom attended Cheptil High School, a volleyball powerhouse, and later won the Africa cross-country junior title in South Africa.

SOME MUGE

Bahrain’s Olympic champion Ruth Jebet is their cousin and lived with Some’s family.

“I was motivated by my cousins Kisorio, Kimeli and Togom and decided to take up athletics,” Jebet said.

Kisorio was in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships teams in Mombasa (2007), Edinburgh (2008), Amman (2009/senior) and Punta Umbria (2011/senior) editions.

One of the biggest inspirations that made world 800m record holder David Rudisha famous was the insatiable hunger to go one better than his father Daniel Rudisha, who won silver in the 4x400m relay at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

“The first time I saw my father’s silver medal from the Olympics, I really admired it since it was so beautiful and I said to myself, I will one time have mine since that was my dad’s. It really motivated me,” David said.

Seurei wins gold

At 15 years old, Rudisha says he realised what he required to win an Olympic medal like his father.

“When I saw his medal, I would become very excited, but I realised all I had to do is train and that is when I knew about sport and got into training programmes.”

There has, however, been an endless track rivalry among three 1,500m households, which started in 1987 when James Seurei beat Kipkosgei Chepsiya and David Kebenei to win gold medal in 1,500m final during the 1987 All Africa Games at the Moi International Sports Complex in Kasarani.

The sons of these three old men picked up 1,500m and continued with rivalry on the track.

Seurei is the father of 1,500m IAAF Diamond League sensation Benson Kiplagat of Bahrain while Chepsiya, the then bronze medalist, has a son, Andrew Rotich, another versatile IAAF Diamond League runner.

But Kebenei, fourth-placed at the All Africa Games, is the father of World 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop, the three-time world 1,500m champion.

Interestingly, a fierce four-lap race rivalry has been revolving between Kebenei and his opponents’ households since then.

Seurei, now a coach in Eldoret, said: “We are all socially friends, but bitter rivals on the track. Our sons have continued with the rivalry, which is healthy.”

In 2014, Asbel competed against his father Kebenei at the Nike International Discovery meeting in Eldoret.

Asbel finished in eighth place while his dad could not take the high pace and dropped mid-way.

Asbel is just like America’s Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz whose father Mark Centrowitz was a 1,500m runner.

“I am sure the world’s 1,500m athletes — such as Hicham El Guerrouj and Amine Lalou (both of Morocco), as well as French’s Mehdi Baala and Deresse Mekonnen of Ethiopia — have not battled their fathers in competitions. I feel proud and privileged,” Asbel said.

Although Billy Konchella, the 1991 World 800m champion, is happy with performances of his son Gregory in 1,500m, he would have loved if he competed for Kenya.

Read newspapers

“I really wanted him to bring medals to Kenya as I did. I encouraged and even trained him to take up athletics. I feel proud of him but would have wished he competed for Kenya.

He has won world 1,500m gold but happy that he has a bronze in 800m, which was my specialty. I would wish he equals my 800m gold medal,” Billy said.

Elkana Nyang’au, the two-time Olympian, has his two sons equalling his shows in sprint races.

Mike Mokamba was in the IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France in 2011 while his younger brother Walter Moenga was in the 4x200m relay squad at inaugural IAAF World Relay Championships in Nassau, Bahamas, in 2015 where they finished fifth and set a national record of one minute and 22.35 seconds.

Mokamba said: “My father bought my running shoes and a stop watch. We read newspapers that featured him during his athletics career.”

The same script reads for Barnaba Kinyor, a 400m hurdles runner in the Kenyan team to the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada. His son Job Kinyor has performed fairly well in 800m.