Analysis of Kenyan Athletics in 2012

As we bid farewell to 2012, its time for an in-depth analysis of Athletics in Kenya for the year. It has been another fantastic year in terms of performances from the athletes who enabled Kenya sustain its good name as one of the top Athletics nations in the world. However, it’s also important to have a critical look at the decisions, policies and events that helped shape the athletics year.

So here’s my perspective on the positive and negative aspects of the athletics year.

One of the best things to happen this year was the Government’s initiative to reward medal winning athletes with significant cash prizes. It was a tremendous pat on the back for the winners and a motivational tool for future winners.

The highlight of the year was David Rudisha breaking the world record and winning gold in the London Olympics in what was regarded as the performance of the Games.

Elite and upcoming athletes benefited from a major workshop to educate them on the importance of financial planning and media training and to help them deal with the challenges of professional athletics.

Major sponsorships for local athletics events  by local conglomerates  were much appreciated. However, more sponsorships and promotions were needed to market many of the athletics events, as there were tremendous opportunities in supporting events in which some of the best athletes in the world are vying for spots for major championships.

Having said that, there were many other events organized by athletes both past and present, individuals and corporations to raise awareness for different causes that were enthusiastically supported by local sponsors. Some examples of this included the Standard Chartered Marathon, the Tecla Loroupe Peace Run, and the Lewa Marathon.

However, the biggest disappointment was the performance of Kenya's athletes at the London Olympics. Coming from a high in Daegu in 2011, Many had high expectations for Kenya to replicate its success at the highest level but disappointingly left London with only 2 Gold.

AK’s policy to issue invitations to only top athletes to the trials was discouraging the development of young athletes looking to break into the elite ranks.

The policy to select the first 2 automatically and the third by committee, has brought about many suspicions and frustrations.

Case in point, AK's new thinking of taking 15 10,000 meters athletes for selection at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon didn't produce any results at the London Olympics. Furthermore that mini trials locked out new and upcoming athletes from trying their luck at making the team.

  

Other weaknesses were the lack of technical expertise availed to athletes and coaches in the sprints and field events. There was also a deficiency of developmental programs to nurture talent of young sprinters.

Despite all the weaknesses, the future of Kenyan athletics looks bright and I am looking forward to another exciting year with a new set of challenges.

Best wishes for the New Year!

The unparalleled success of Kenya's junior girls in athletics

If there's anything as a sure thing in Kenyan Athletics then is is the success of junior girls in cross country.

 Theirs is a rich history of supremacy at that level. Tracing their performance from the early 90’s, our junior women have won the World Championships title twelve times, and recorded a perfect score twice. Despite the early promise, few have posted significant senior international results. It is surprising to see that since 1991, only three Kenyan girls who won junior world cross-country medals duplicated their feat at the senior level. 

During those years, Kenya's junior girls’ cross-country team won 28 world-championship medals. This contrasted to the senior level, which has double the medal opportunities, and won only 14.

One of the major stumbling blocks facing talented Kenyan junior female runners is a lack of continuity. Many of them excel in local and international championships but soon fizzle out, leaving athletics followers wondering why they cannot maintain their consistency at senior level.

Exactly what holds back so many girls is up for debate.  A number of factors have been cited, among them the maturity of girls’ to young women, the lack of professional guidance on diet and weight issues. There are also formidable cultural and social obstacles to be negotiated. Some get married at a young age and may consequently stop competing. Some undertake too many time-consuming obligations to train effectively while others fall victim to peer pressure.

Prize money, despite its potential for good, can also pose a problem as it can motivate girls to compete before they are quite ready and thus burn out. Unable to see past a new roof or an extra acre of land, some girls, and their families, focus on the present gains at the expense of their future athletic careers.

Worse still, this pursuit of the money sometimes causes girls to neglect their education. This is sad because if they get injured or pregnant, or simply lose interest in the sport, they have nothing to fall back on. It is impossible to know how many promising careers have been derailed by such problems as the situation is not discussed openly.

Amazingly, our young girls do not lack for good role models. For Lorna Kiplagat, Catherine Ndereba, Tegla Lorupe, Susan Sirma, Margaret Okayo and Vivian Cheruiyot have set standards for which the juniors can follow and look up to.

Despite Athletics Kenya having a budget to deal with youth development, they have done nothing to assist and develop our super youngsters. It has been left to pioneers like Lorna Kiplagat who  set up the first high altitude training camp for women in Africa. She has invested her prize money into alleviating the problems faced by girls looking for suitable residential camps and developing the next generation of female athletes. It is an investment that is beginning to pay off in ways likely to improve Kenyan society at large.

But we need to take it a step further from Lorna’s initiative if we are to continue to enjoy success at the junior level. A possible solution would be to start a sports academy, partnered with a major sponsor or sporting organization, for talented junior athletes where they combine academics and athletics. Students with exceptional running ability can be admitted on scholarship where they would get a solid education, but also get a chance to develop and focus on athletics with the best facilities and coaching that the country can provide. 

This way, our girls would be able to compete with and beat the Ethiopian women who, currently, are a standard above us. I’m sure Faith Chepngetich and Nancy Chepkemoi our two outstanding junior runners, can benefit from a project such as this and go on to be future World and Olympic champions.

Support for Athletics should start from Schools

Recently, I attended a high school event in the US and came off it thoroughly impressed by the creativity and team spirit displayed by the teams that participated. Without a doubt, nothing compares to the purity of high school athletics, so fierce, emotional and genuine. Young athletes bring to sports what the best of sports brings to the world. When teams possess a strong sense of morale, pride and spirit they are able to multiply their energy, achievement, efficiency and productivity. In essence, every teammate counts.

Of course, our schools athletics here in Kenya do not possess the same team spirit ideals, but they more than make up for it by their sheer enthusiasm and the production of near world-class performances. Although the young athletes themselves possess the aura of success, there is not the fan base or community support that is the often a key ingredient in achieving success. Other sports as football, rugby volleyball etc, have vibrant fan bases and athletics fans can learn a few tips from these sports. It is at the high school level where the youth learn the values and ideals of team spirit that will spill over on to their college and professional lives.

In Kenya, athletics is not an individual sport. It has always been part of a collective drive. This team spirit, reflected in the excellent results of the cross-country teams in World Championships, is the consequence of what is taught in the training camps. The team spirit that motivates the nation’s athletes in the 3000 meter steeplechase, for instance, is a cultural exception. The excellent results of the steeplechase runners over the years prove that this distinctive characteristic wins medals. However, this tradition has not developed by chance; it is based on selfless personalities of the athletes and the great camaraderie between Kenyan athletes.

However, broadly speaking, the national athletics teams have nowhere near the team spirit or fan support that Harambee Stars or the Rugby Sevens teams have here at home. There are hardly any fans watching our heroes when the national championships or trials are on nowadays. There are high expectations of any Kenyan running team competing in any major championships, yet most fans do not show their support until they win. By comparison, the Ethiopians are extremely passionate about their athletes. Go to any big race in Europe where their athletes are competing and you will find a big group of Ethiopians, clad in their bright national colors, following and excitedly supporting their athletes.

It makes a big difference to the athlete competing to know that their own are visibly supporting them.

Sports is exciting in itself but the innovativeness, imagination, and enterprise those countries expressing team spirit has shown is to be acknowledged. The internet has added many new dimensions to sporting events. It has changed the way people view sports and now even a fan staying many oceans away can have a say and be heard by millions across the world.

Therefore, I urge more people to go out, support athletics, and be proud of our world-beaters.  Show you are an avid supporter by wearing and using Kenya merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, flags etc. Create local fan clubs for your favorite athletes to cheer for them and show that you care.