Kenya Olympic brand important in the run -up to London Olympics

The recently formed steering committee to spearhead Kenya’s preparations for the London Olympics later this year brings to focus the planning and preparation of teams to the Games. Every Olympic year exposes the challenges of raising money to send the best possible team and yet it should be an easier experience given Kenya’s incredible successes and legacy at previous games.  

The Kenyan Olympic brand continues to retain its vitality as the most patriotic, most inspiring, most sportsman-like and most unifying sports organization in Kenya, which is a testament to the strength of the Olympic symbol, the inspiring stories of our athletes and dedication of its partners. The true measure of its brand strength and why it continues to flourish is that NOCK creates opportunities for sportsmen to fairly and successfully compete globally against the best in the world.

Certainly the success of the Kenya team at the Beijing Olympics in which it was ranked as the 14^th highest medal winner of the Games played a role in the positive outlook. So too did strong television ratings as various outlets brought so many of the Kenyan athletes and their stories into living rooms and bars throughout the country.

An example of this is the victory ceremony of the men’s marathon in Beijing that was held before the official closing ceremony with billions watching the late Samuel Wanjiru being awarded his medal and the national anthem played after.

The Games are also the driving force for a nation building process. As a country, we don’t have the chance often enough to do this regularly and the Olympic Games gives us the chance to do this especially with the upcoming general elections.

Patriotism plays a tremendous role in the popularity of the Kenya’s Olympic participation. It is a chance for Kenyans to feel good about themselves, to rally behind one team rather than then geographical separation of professional sports.

Our Olympians are some amazing people with some amazing stories and they really resonate with people around the country, in all ages and in all walks of life. Everyone can find a part of the Olympic Games and Olympians they can relate to. The Olympics is one such movement capable of binding the peoples of the world: an enormous privilege and responsibility. As you know sport is a wonderful metaphor: it can be used to build trust, create a common language, shared values and much more.

The opportunity for people to be really inspired by athletes wearing their country’s flag and playing on the international circuit is very special and prideful thing in Kenya. NOCK’s marketing partners should recognize that and the value of the Olympic movement.

A Kenyan gold medal is not only a huge objective of an athlete and NOCK; it is also a business angle in the world of sport. Corporate Kenya ought to notice that in 2012, sponsorship of Kenya’s Olympic team to London would be one of the most valuable sports sponsorships that would not only trigger strong patriotism but would also provoke brand usage and loyalty.

Even consumers recognize the role sponsors play in the success of Kenyan Olympians as many believe  that corporate sponsors assures that athletes can afford to train and compete effectively.

I feel that the best fit for the Olympic team sponsors are category leaders, those companies that desire to be perceived as somewhat selfless and patriotic. Companies should not assume that an Olympic investment won’t provide a return on investment competitive with other sports sponsorships, but they’ll have to work a little harder to accomplish their marketing goals.

And working harder for local sponsors means going full-in on the Olympics. One way is by sponsoring teams to other global events under the Olympic umbrella – such as the Youth Olympics. The other way to get connected is by matching the vision of the Olympic movement, which is about peace, progress and the world coming together to celebrate our common humanity. 

Kenyan companies that have long standing commitment to global sustainability, excellence, innovation and are able to address world challenges would be perfectly placed in their associations with the Olympics to be open to tremendous business opportunities.

The Olympic movement has a big blank canvas of ideas that makes it attractive to brands as it offers them far broader relevance to the public. Obviously, the challenge is to allow these ideals to emerge, and with the many implications for the organizations and the way it behaves.

The buzz surrounding Kenya’s medal hopes in London, it must be remembered, is far more than just a question of national pride: it is also a matter of future business for partners and sponsors of the National Olympic Committee.

Selection of marathon team to Olympics tough but must be determined now

With less than 200 days to go to the London Olympics, Athletics Kenya’s decision to name the provisional marathon team to the London Olympics tomorrow is timely. The marathon, unlike the track races, requires sufficient mental and physical preparation several months ahead of the event and this year being such an important year, athletes aspiring to compete in the Olympics would want to know their fate early enough.

With superstars  such as World Record holder Patrick Makau, World Champions Abel Kirui and Edna Kiplagat already been named for the Olympic competition, AK is looking to fill only 3 spots. And there’s certainly no shortage of quality and talent to pick from.

Actually, it must be one of the most difficult decisions to make for the men’s selection, given that they have to pick from the likes of Geoffrey Mutai, Moses Mosop, Emmanuel Mutai and Wilson Kipsang all whom are such quality runners that anyone of them could win in London. Kenya’s Olympic title defense of its Beijing victory by the late Samuel Wanjiru certainly looks promising with this cast of athletes.

With our male athletes winning all the majors, the World championship and posting the top 25 fastest times last year, Kenya is in an enviable position even with these tough team selection decisions as we possess incredible quality at the top and amazing depth.  

It isn’t any different for the women either as choosing from a talent pool consisting of London Marathon winner Mary Keitany, Berlin champion, Florence Kiplagat, Boston winner Caroline Kilel and Daegu marathon runner-up Prisca Jeptoo certainly will be tough to decide.

With such quality and depth of athletes, I think that future Olympic marathon squads ought to be determined by a trial and not in the Athletics Kenya board room. This selection trial among Kenya’s best marathon runners at least 200 days before the Olympics would be the fairest way to determine who should represent the country.

Besides, form is transient and athletes shouldn’t be selected a year before the event just because they ran fast at that particular time or won a major marathon.

Getting through a Kenyan Olympic trials process gives an athlete immense confidence going to an Olympic Games because they know that they survived the toughest selection route possible. Having competed in a few Kenyan Olympic Trials as an athlete, I know that the pressure factor is second to none especially in an event dominated globally by Kenyans.

Having an Olympic marathon trials would open up the selection process to several hundred athletes and that way, world class runners who normally would never get the opportunity to compete against their peers and yet are individual city marathon champions elsewhere, get to meet in this head to head competition for the first time to decide just who is the best in Kenya. Some marathon runners need to experience that kind of pressure before a major event like the Olympics where there are no pacemakers like the big city marathons.

Throw in some prize money and such a trial will attract immense attention and publicity given that it would be the highest quality marathon event ever held.

We could learn a thing or two from USA Track & Field who held their marathon trials yesterday. The hype and build-up of their trials was something to behold even with their much lower qualifying standards than we have.

March's Indoor Championships a key build up for London Olympics later this year

With 200 days to go to the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, the athletics season is now underway and for many athletes looking to get their Olympic campaign going, this preparation period is hitting a crucial stage.

After the highly successful championships in Daegu by Kenya, this indoor season provides another opportunity for our athletes to shine on the global stage once again.

For sprinters and middle distance runners, the upcoming indoor season is viewed as the ideal preparation towards a successful Olympic campaign in the summer. For some, it is a break from the speed endurance phase to test their fitness levels, while for others; it is a full-on, well-planned out season as indoor specialists well suited to the shorter, banked surface of the indoor track.

Nonetheless, this indoor season is important as six top quality meetings will precede the 14^th edition of the IAAF World Indoor Championships that will be held in early March in Istanbul, Turkey. So significant are these championships to the athletics world that record-high entries have been submitted by 170 countries confirming participation.

Kenya’s record at previous indoor championships is fairly unimpressive in its 27 year history having won a total of 16 medals and producing only 5 champions. However, that is a skewed assessment as Kenya initially entered a select few participants to the early championships.

With this being such an important year, I feel that the athletes’ agents ought to encourage quality participation in the events leading up to the championships. In an Olympic year, the caliber of athletes will always be strong and if Kenyan athletes want to challenge for the medals, they need to be racing against the best opposition.

Athletics Kenya ought to select the best possible team for the Istanbul championships in order to win more medals this time around and set the tone for greater things in London later in the summer.

The men’s 800 meters has always been our savior at the World Indoor Championships with 3 gold medals at that event and this year, our athletes could continue that trend given the strong performers at that event.

With the World Cross Country Championships missing from this year’s athletics calendar, this would be a great opportunity for versatile superstars like Vivian Cheruiyot and Asbel Kiprop to participate in Istanbul and add the only medals left to their growing collection of global titles.

After a splendid season last year and reports of an exceptional off-season training period, expect Vivian to have a strong showing on the indoor circuit this winter. After her silver medal performance at the 2010 indoor championships in Doha, Vivian would like to top the podium this time ahead of her more experienced Ethiopian indoor rival, Meseret Defar. With such matchups to look forward to this winter, the women’s distance races should produce some of the highlights this season.

10 Things to look out for in 2012

Happy New Year to all readers of this column! 2012 brings with it great hope and high expectations for Kenyan athletics coming from a bumper year.

Here is a list of 10 things we can look forward to this year in Kenyan athletics.

1.    As Pamela Jelimo proved to the world in 2008, you can bet on a complete upstart to emerge from Kenya and become a world beater. This year will not be any different. You can be sure that we will be celebrating new talent by the end of the season.

2.    After having one of the most remarkable seasons ever for a Kenyan female athlete, Vivian Cheruiyot looks set to continue her dominance in the long distance races on the track. Even with the highly motivated Ethiopians looking for revenge this year, look forward to another tremendous season by Vivian.

3.    World marathon domination. Kenyans will continue to dominate major city marathons around the world as running standards will rise. After an unbelievable season of some incredibly fast times in the marathon by Kenyan men this year, the world record could be broken once again given the highly competitive nature of that event.

4.    A strong performance by the Kenyan team at the Olympic Games in London at the end of July. After the highly successful Daegu World Championships in 2011 and the Beijing Games in 2008 both in Asia, high standards have been set with 6 gold medals and 15 total medals the minimum expectation level.

5.    Renewed challenges from our Ethiopian neighbours and other African born athletes in the long distance track races. A resurgent Bekele in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres will be tough to beat along with Mo Farah and Bernard Lagat who pose the greatest threat to Kenya’s path to the Olympic podium.

6.    Continued success for women on the track. Pamela Jelimo and Nancy Lagat’s success at the Beijing Olympics was inspired by Janeth Jepkosgei’s Osaka’s exploits and will open the floodgates for more women to follow in their footsteps across all events.

7.    More celebratory dances by our athletes like the “Kemboi dance” at the Daegu World Championships. Some unique dance moves and some showmanship by our athletes after victory can immortalize an athlete even more than the race itself.

8.    A low key cross country season. With the African championships the only major event of the season due to the World Cross Country Championships turning biennial, consequently, cross country isn’t a major focus this year.

9.    For local athletics fans, the centerpiece of the season is the Olympic Trials at Nyayo Stadium at the end of June. The world’s best athletes will fight for selection to compete in the London Games. One of the most competitive trials in the world!

10. A new constitution and elections for Athletics Kenya. Hopefully, a fresh professional set of leaders and a new dispensation to guide the most successful sport in this country. 

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.