Kenya's marathon domination

The marathon is beyond doubt one of the most difficult and attractive races in athletics. The inherent, resonant beauty of the classic distance manifests itself in many ways, and chief among these is that the marathon is perhaps more ethnically diverse than any other major world sport save for football.

No other country in the world has the quality or the depth that Kenya possesses in the marathon. In many ways, our distance supremacy is a symbol for everything that is great about the marathon. Our country is among the worlds poorest, yet we continually produce runners who test the body's physical limits and the mind's imagination.

 Kenya’s dominance of the marathon however this year is truly remarkable! We have produced a total of 85 marathon winners with a few more coming up before the year end.  But 2011 has truly been extraordinary as the emerging results, quality and depth are absolutely astonishing.

For the first time ever, Kenyans have swept the World Marathon Majors with spectacular victories in New York, Chicago, Berlin, London and Boston marathons and each time the course records have been shattered including the world record in Berlin. Kenya also defended its World Championships title in Daegu which counted towards the Majors series.

Doubly impressive were the Kenyan women who made history by sweeping the marathon medals at the World Championships, and winning three out of the five marathon majors.

This is also the year that the world record returned to Kenya since Paul Tergat last held it. Patrick Makau broke the venerable record held by Haile Gebreselassie. Incredibly, Makau is only the 3^rd fastest ever Kenyan this year as Geoffrey Mutai and Moses Mosop ran faster in a wind-aided race in Boston in April.

Mutai is probably the world’s hottest marathon runner at the moment having run the fastest marathon ever and both runs in both tough New York and Boston faster than the easy Chicago course that is famous for its world record attempts and successes.

Indeed 2011 has been a bumper year of Kenya with fast times, course records and personal bests recorded all over the world.

Sample this, even with the ridiculously fast Boston times not counting in the world rankings, Kenyans occupy all the top 22 times ran this year and the first non Kenyan posting a not too shabby 2.06.31 time in 23^rd place.

2011 is the third consecutive year in which marathon times have been dropping fast .In the last three years, the average of the top 10 times have been faster than what the world record time was in 2002.

And the athletes re-writing the record books have been getting younger. In 2001, the average age of the top 10 men was 28.5. A decade later, it's 26.5.

The Marathon used to be the "next step" for aging elite runners after a successful track career. Stars like Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat, both of whom set world marathon records, didn't turn to the marathon until they were 29 and 30, respectively, after dominating the track record lists.

Now it is the first step because of the prize money and the appearance fees (starting with the late Samuel Wanjiru). Runners can take home a million dollars just for running 2 races in a year. Yes they have to perform well to do so, but it's the incentive that is drawing the top talent and with that top talent comes faster times.  In 2001, six different countries had a top-10 men's marathon runner. In 2011, it's Kenya one through twenty two!

In Kenya now many 22 year old athletes in their prime are skipping the track scene and gravitating to the classic distance mostly in search of the instant riches the marathon provides. 

  

So how did we come to this and what does this mean for the future of Kenya marathoning?

Marathons and road races in general are far more lucrative than track races. Generally there are only about 2-3 major 10km track races in the European circuit in a year compared to the numerous lucrative road races all over the world. So what’s an average 10, 000m runner to do if he has to earn a living from his sport? The choice is obvious!

The stunning depth of the Kenyan marathoning scene definitely poses tough questions for Athletics Kenya when it comes to the championship team selection.

Do they pick just the three fastest performers of the year or are we ready for a marathon trials format like the track performers. The facts are the Kenyans marathon runners are too deep and run too many races where the top guys don't go head to head. We have one guy that is the World Champion, One guy that is the World Record holder and two additional guys that have run faster than those two on Boston's course.
Plus a few others that have won major races and others that may actually peak next year.

There would obviously be a backlash to this as the agents and the other marathons would lobby very strongly to make sure that doesn't happen. Imagine its London... who's going to show up at Boston or Rotterdam?

There are arguments for both formats but given the sheer depth of marathon runners under the Olympic and World Championships qualifying times, which at the moment is about 75 athletes, the time is ripe for a marathon trials for any major championships, say in February of a particular championships year.

Geoffrey Mutai, the fastest ever at the moment, is in favour of such an arrangement. And I agree with him. Bring on the top 15 marathon runners together for a trial wherever and the top 2 are automatically selected with one decided by committee based to championship experience

Possibly as a result of our athletes’ successes in these marathons around the world, there is a chance that road race organizers will limit or discourage our Kenyan athletes to compete or even win in their events in favor of their local athletes.

The negative side of this is that we are becoming victims of our own success. With the numerous numbers of athletes seeking competitive opportunities around the world, there is a sense of frustration among race directors and federations that there just too many Kenyans in their races.

A 2.06 marathon runner in Kenya is an average runner ranked only in the top 25 in the world which means that that if he doesn’t consistently win  or place in the top 3 in any event he runs in, his income will dwindle significantly. Compare that to say a top European athlete who runs 3 minutes slower than him and earns triple his income!

With the production of seemingly endless world class marathon athletes from Kenya, it is inconceivable that limitations or discouragement by race organizers will lessen their prowess on the world marathon scene.

Kenya's Daegu success

It seems that Asia has a certain positive appeal for Kenya’s national athletics team given its dominance whenever a major championship is held there. The performances of Kenya’s athletes at the ’88 Seoul Olympics, ’07 Osaka World Championships, 08’ Beijing Olympics and this year’s Daegu World Championships attest to that fact.

Daegu was by far Kenya’s best ever global championships with our athletes winning 7 gold medals and accumulating a total of 17 medals. In doing so, the team exhibited some amazing performances that proved that we are solidly a global athletics super power finishing 3^rd overall behind the USA and Russia.

For the 1^st time ever, three of our athletes defended their titles from the previous championships, one athlete successfully completed a double win, and our athletes went 1-2 in 6 different events in the middle and long distance events. These statistics show how amazing Kenyan athletes are dominant on the world stage in the middle and long distance events.

Perhaps the most positive outcome of these Daegu championships has been the showcase of dominance by our women. For the first time in any major championship, the Kenyan ladies have stolen the limelight from the men. With a total of 8 out of 9 possible medals from the distance events and another 2 in the middle distances, their performance is unparalleled in World Championships history.

Edna Kiplagat started off Kenya’s golden week with a tremendous run in the marathon leading the women to a first ever clean sweep of the medals.  Our female marathoners were eager to prove that they are indeed the best going by their exemplary record in the big city marathons.

Vivian Cheruiyot, as many would agree, was simply fabulous! In becoming the first Kenyan woman to win double gold medals in the distance events in a World Championships and successfully defend her title from Berlin, she displayed remarkable self confidence and total dominance not seen in a while. Cheruiyot had an astounding championship!

Clearly on her way to assuming legendary status as queen of the 5000 metres, she now only has the Olympic title to chase after. Now after discovering her potential at the longer distance, she can choose whichever distance to run in London 2012. After her exploits in Daegu, I don’t see anyone standing in her way if she maintains the hunger for success going.

There’s nothing more exciting for our nation like the dominance of the 3000m steeplechase. Kenya once again proved why it is the most successful nation in that single event in championship history. Kenya has won this event consistently since 1991! So much so that we have come to expect it every time.

Ezekiel Kemboi, this year’s winner and defending champion, produced a remarkable finish, in a slow race totally suited to his style, to lead his teammate to 1-2 finish. In winning his third global title, Kemboi lays claim to being one of the greatest championships steepler ever. Showing incredible consistency, he has been winning championship medals since 2002 and has more World / Olympic medals than anyone else!

Kemboi has a certain exuberance and bravado about him going by his celebration after his win. He is one of the most entertaining athletes on the global scene often drawing attention to himself and delivering the goods with style.

The men’s 800m final was highly anticipated with superstar David Rudisha finally striking his first global gold. With the result never in doubt, it was the manner that he would achieve it that fans wanted to witness. Rudisha has become such a dominant figure in his event that his competitors now just fight for the minor places.

Probably the most satisfying victory for Kenya at these championships had to be the first ever gold medal in the men’s 1500m. Asbel Kiprop finally lived up to his top billing and showed that he learnt his lessons well from previous tactical disappointments of Osaka ’07 and Berlin ’09 to execute his race plan perfectly. Pre-race favorite Silas Kiplagat who won the silver medal still had a strong accomplishment despite his lack of championship experience. These two athletes at only 22 years are the future of the event and with the right focus, could dominate it for years to come.

The men’s marathon was another showcase of dominance by defending champion Abel Kirui who won impressively by two and a half minutes over his compatriot Vincent Kipruto. Following his championship record performance in Berlin ’09, Kirui has proved to be the consummate championship performer and the ultimate ambassador for Kenyan marathoning given his jovial personality and big smile at the finish.

As much as these Daegu Games were a tremendous success, there is certainly room for improvement. In the men’s 5000 and 10,000m we missed out on medals for the first time in a long time. The quality of the athletes in those two events wasn’t as good as in previous years and it showed when it came down to the last lap sprint. These two distance events have been characterized by extremely fast last laps and athletes lacking that all important quality just don’t stand a chance of medaling.

The underachievement of our athletes in Daegu included the 3rd place finish of Milcah Chemos was a big upset given her dominance in the women’s 3000m steeplechase all season. The Olympic champion Nancy Lagat in the 1500m was obviously having an off year and didn’t make it to the final. Same as Daniel Kipchirchir Komen in the men’s 1500m who, for the third time of selection to the national team, still has never made a global final. My earlier justification for Nixon Chepseba’s inclusion to the Daegu squad over Komen now has been vindicated given his storming win over all the medalists in the Zurich Diamond League event this past Thursday.

So it’s back to the selection process. Extremely high standards have been set by this group of athletes and Athletics Kenya must select individuals capable of making it to the podium in the future. The wildcard system must be put to good use in selecting capable individuals who probably weren’t on top of their game at the trials. London 2012 is just 11 months away and we must work on our weaknesses if we expect to win more medals at the Olympics.

There were so many incredible stories and performances by our athletes at these championships. It is time for our athletes to ride on their successes to endorse local brands and become effective ambassadors of sport for the country.

Congratulations to all the athletes who have brought glory to Kenya in Daegu in its best ever championships.

High Hopes for Team Kenya in Daegu World Championships

This week, the world’s best athletes converge in the city of Daegu, South Korea for the 13^th edition of the World Athletics Championships, the stage is set for yet another scintillating week of enthralling performances and hopefully, some show-stopping individuals who will rise to the occasion.

This current Kenyan team is capable of exceeding the memorable performances which marked the last time the world championships were held in Asia five years ago. Asia indeed has been good to us with very successful campaigns in the Olympics and World Championships in which we have participated in that continent.

The national team, made up of a mix of experienced performers and fresh faced youngsters, looks set to improve on Berlin 2009’s great medal tally with some real prospects of winning.

Already the women’s marathon team has completed an historic 1-2-3 sweep of the medals led by Edna Kiplagat, Prisca Jeptoo and Sharon Cherop making a tremendous improvement from Berlin 2009 where they only got 10^th place. What a fantastic achievement by our ladies in the marathon!

This is a great start to the championships and will undoubtedly spur the rest of the team to shoot for the podium places as the competition unfolds.  With hot favorites David Rudisha and Micah Chemos who have already begun their campaigns with relative comfort through the first rounds yesterday, expectations of fans of our athletes in those events are high.

The men’s 10,000m today should be an interesting one. We have a fairly strong Kenyan team that could challenge for a medal but it would take an incredibly and even lifetime type performance to bag the gold in light of the strong competition in the event.

However, expect some surprises. As with any championships, they provide the opportunity for someone’s moment to shine. Interestingly, our women could win gold in events our men won’t. The Kenyan quality in the women’s 5000m and 10,000m is top notch and are set to defend their titles from Berlin.

 I’m expecting a gutsy individual gold medal performance from the women in the middle distances. My dark horse picks for these championships are the 1500m runners. I believe they are suitably motivated and prepared to bring home the gold in this event for the first time in the history of the world championships for Kenya.

Medal predictions are tough to make as always but I’m making a safe bet of 6 gold medals. Anything less will be a disappointment as I feel that the team can achieve much more.

Regardless of their performance in Daegu, let us all support our national team as they elicit a tremendous amount of national pride and patriotism when they take on the rest of the world.