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.