Commonwealth Games - Glasgow : Kenya's Gold, Bleed and Ugly

2014 and it is exactly 60 years since a Kenyan sports personality made it to any international sporting event! And this event was the Commonwealth Games in 1954 ( had previously been known as British Empire Games).

Glasgow 2014 - image courtesy of glasgow.com

With such rich heritage and a storied past, the 2014 edition ought to have been a done deal for Kenyan sport but alas! It is another skewed performance from a contingent of 169 athletes and officials. A misnomer of the Commonwealth Games is that fierce competitors, Ethiopia and other North African countries do not participate.
But even without these countries, Glasgow exposed the scope of Kenya's famed athletes. Out of the 13 disciplines, only 3 managed to get to the podium.

Stand-Outs: 

1. Julius Yego – Javelin Gold standard – first ever field event Gold medal in major c’ships. Even without proper training facilities and technical support he keeps getting better;

Julius Yego - Golden Throw - www.getty.com

2. Eunice Sum – 800m – she's the reigning world champ and she turned up for the another sterling performance;3. Caleb Ndiku – 5000m – coming of age, he was named 2010 SOYA most promising athlete and showed why. Exit Ezekiel Kemboi too we have another performer...

Disappointments:

David Rudisha – 800m Silver - World/Olympic champ & WR holder, we expected nothing short of Gold, even with a poor season so far;

Jason Dunford – Swimming - he finally admitted frustrations/lack of Kenya's Swimming Federation support ( and no officials are sacked..???);

Kenya 7s team – after finishing 2^nd in the table standings in the preliminaries, they met their match in New Zealand who ended our first rugby Commonwealth medal chances

Special Mentions:

1. Conrad Nkanata – US-based sprinter – finished 3^rd in his 200m heat, with proper training he can be a future sprinter;
2. Benson Gicharu – Boxer – even with time running out for his amateur boxing career, he is still punching it out at major sports events

Kenya Sports (Mis)management:

The charade of Kenyan officials in managing the team continued. First it was delayed allowances due to athletes. Second was the kit issue with missing or delayed kit to Team Kenya.  Third was late accreditation which meant missed attendance by cyclist, David Kinjah among others. Fourth and it’s truly out of personal frustration was lack of technical/financial support as well as favouritism in team selection. These last were raised not just by non-traditional disciplines but also swimmers such as Jason Dunford who may have had his swansong representing the country in any sport.

Golden Girls - 3000m s'chase Kenyan trio

We have said this before and shall repeat it for the umpteenth time. Kenya’s sport management needs to change RADICALLY! Why have more than 10 disciplines and only 2-3 have any chance of winning medals? Can more investment be made on a few of these or if all disciplines are represented, get proper exposure to have winning chance(s).

•    Kitting – what business goes on with kit which has been acquired for national duty? Why should some official conveniently forget to order this in time? Other times they issue it to non-participants or stock it in local shops. Sponsors should also review such misdemeanor and cancel contracts for misallocated kits.
•    Allowances – we saw the embarrassment of African teams in World Cup. It did not even take a month before our own officials replicated that same template. Why should individual be charged with responsibility of managing team finances? In future all participants should supply account details and monies sent direct to them like regular pay.
•    Size of squad – how many officials are really needed to attend international events even when their disciplines have no chance of winning a bronze medal? Participation should be on how successful a sport is at regional, continental or international duty.
•    Technical/Financial details – for most disciplines Kenya has lost a semblance of international standards. From boxing, swimming to even some athletics events, the edge of advances in technical knowledge is lacking. Spotlight is on sports federations’ internal wrangles and lack of international best practice to compete at such levels.

As usual we shall be treated to excuses and made to forget what has become perennial under-achieving by our national team(s). As a nation,we need to demand accountability from those in charge of our sports bodies. The Government must also stop playing deaf and be more forceful in getting officials to straighten their act. 

It is no wonder that most athletes prefer running in Grand Prix events, others opting to quit even before their prime as a frustrated lot. See what is happening to the football fraternity? 

World Relays gives Kenyan Athletes 'Golden Shine'

This past weekend marked the inaugural World Relays under the auspices of IAAF hosted in the Caribbean island of Bahamas ( the natives called Bahamians, more like Bohemian Rhapsody...I digress).

World Relays Bahamas 2014 - image courtesy of www.iaaf.org

The 2-day event had some really good action for any sports and athletics enthusiasts. Stealing some of the attention for the more popular football (soccer in other quarters), was a huge gamble but for those few moments the Championships produced some sparkle. The c'ships had 10 events billed as the Golden Baton which included the more common and widely accepted

• 4 x 100m ( both men and women)
• 4 x 400m 

But also other races including;

• 4 x 200m  or 2 lap event
• 4 x 800m or 8-lap event
• 4 x 1500m or 15-lap event.

As expected some athletics powerhouses such as the US and Jamaica sent strong teams especially in the short(er) sprints. Kenya too sent very strong teams in what were expected to be its specialties in the middle races. After what might have been a fiasco in national team selection, the team redeemed itself winning 3 out of its targeted 4 Gold medals and each of those in World Record times. There was also special mention of the 4 x 400m Kenyan men's team which featured in the Final B ending up in the tail end of the proceedings. 

A few lessons too could be taken by the Kenyans from these Games;

a) Preparations - The national selection method employed by Athletics Kenya was not the most scientific and suited for this purpose. This led to an almost disjointed effort in preparing the team for the c'ships. In future, it would not hurt to make proper preparations for national selection and onward camp for participants.

b) Tactics- while we may not have been with the coaches and managers, some of the tactics employed  cost the team valuable points and wins. For example, the 4 x 800m women's race decision to run a fairly inexperienced Busienei in the first leg saw Kenya lose her position to lead and ultimately play catch up to the US team. 

c) More Country representation - being the inaugural c'ships not every country was able to send representatives and some sent some more junior and inexperienced runners. Beijing in 2015, you can be sure it will not be a walk-over even for Kenya even in the middle races that we seem to have such a stronghold. Ethiopia, Algeria, Morocco and even Uganda will want to prove a point or two. We saw what is happening in the marathons and 10K races in other championships. And it is not just the Africans breathing down the necks of Kenyans, Russia, Romania and other European countries always fancy challenging Kenyan athletes.

Kenya's 4 x 1500m Women's team - image courtesy of www.iaaf.org

d) Track and Field Clubs - while Kenya has traditionally had no problem in producing talent especially for the middle and long distances, our performances in the shorter races of 400m, 200m and 100m have been dismal. Save for the occasional suprise in the 400m, the others don't seem to feature in our calendar. 

One way of encouraging this is forming running/sprint clubs that can be situated in 2-3 cities in the country. Rigorous training and exposure will see us in good stead. Investing in the necessary infrastructure such as tartan running tracks, gyms, sports scientists and nutritionists is integral too. The US has Santa Monica Track Club(which produced among others sprint legend Carl Lewis), Jamaica has the MVP Track and Field Club

(with women sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser in its stable). Why can't Kenya invest in one too?

e) Reward System - though this has been ongoing with the gold medal winners in major games such as Olympics and Commonwealth getting national honours, more can be done to earn our athletes their worth. The mileage enjoyed by their participation and winning is more than the fancy budgets and trips that tourism officials seek to justify for their activities. There has been talk of an Athletics Hall of Fame by Athletics Kenya but this ought to be a public-private partnership by all parties concerned.

For now let's enjoy the shine of winning 3 Gold medals and records to boot. In 2015, I don't see why Kenya should not bag 4 Gold medals and Bronze or two in the shorter races. Optimistic perhaps? 

Quick recap:

Kenya won Gold in the 4 x 800m (men), 4 x 1500m (men and women) and Silver in 4 x 800m (women).

In Related News:

When Safaricom Limited announced that it had secured the naming rights of Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi,  its current CEO Bob Collymore intimated that one of the areas of focus would be investing in the shorter races. This was echoing earlier sentiments made in 2012 when he was awarding the Olympic heroes. True to their word, the company sponsored the National Relay series which almost ended in confusion after Athletics Kenya couldn't agree on a proper formula for the competition. In future, national associations should have proper blueprints for events such as this. Having secured funding and sponsorship such as Safaricom's makes it easier to consult experts and host more successful events. 

For future Relay events, Athletics Kenya can do better by letting the respective branches come up with teams which can then compete at the series of trials in Nairobi and any other city deemed suitable. This will not only attract new talent but also expose potential athletes to specialisations beyond the individual races they usually do.

As for Safaricom Limited, your investment may start bearing fruit sooner than expected...

2014 thus far, Kenya's Sports dwindling influence?

This year started with a lot of optimism given that the then newly elected Government had come with a basket full of promises...pardon my pessismist self who takes politicos and sports officials with a pinch of salt.
Well they had even the Sports Bill which was finally passed last year to provide grounds for new dawn in Kenyan sports. But alas!
Starting with the people's game of football, Kenyan clubs were bundled out of the pre-qualifying stages of continental club championships. That it was Kenya'biggest clubs reduced to cheer leaders tells a lot of what needs to be done to the same. This showed the need to streamline club activity in Kenya.
Onto to athletics, even though Kenyan athletes made a good showing at the continental championships in Kampala, our rivals in Ethiopia and other East African countries are no longer shoo-ins to be taken for granted. An interesting observation too must be made on our long distance runners especially marathon. While Kenyan has a wealth of talent, their margin of success is restricted to 2-3 wins before fading off. Look at Ethiopia, the same athletes who ran the 5K & 10K have now switched to the half and full marathons...it's only a matter of time...
Volleyball, and our Kenyan ladies have always been continental queens....? Well not anymore! Losing the North Africans, our sisters were given a reality check on what other countries have been doing and are capable of doing. There has also been such a disconnect between continental and world championships. Kenya has performed dismally in the latter and Kenya Volleyball Federation doesn't have clue of what to do.
Cricket, oh the Englishman's game! Well Kenya has sunk so low, that we couldn't qualify for the Twenty 20 tournament played by both Test and non-Test nations.  What is more worrying is that our neighbours Uganda and Rwanda are developing better teams and it's only a matter of time before we are dethroned.
As for rugby,  it's a mixed bag with the 7s team tempering our expectations while the 15s side  made small but significant strides in South Africa as we wait for the Worl Cup qualifiers later thus year.
Boxing too is reporting a  bit of life after being knocked out for several years off the national sports agenda.

• What has been symptomatic across the board is lethargic sports officials.  We have been there before on the need to elect pragmatic officials.  It's an ideal situation but tenable for some if not majority of the sports bodies. 
• Laxity from the Government.  While some sports associations behave like untouchables, they're more that the Secretary of Sports and Culture can do than the mere pronouncements.  For starters, invoking the Sports Bill and its statutes is one way. 
• Accountability - audits on the sports bodie should be regular and recommendations acted upon. This should be from both Government and sponsoring companies.  When players go on national duty and come back without having been paid their allowances is an abomination in this time and age. 
• International best practices - when our sports people participate in international events, what do they learn? Or are they busy visitng other less important business as opposed to taking notes on their call of duty? 

There's still the second half of the year to look forward to and hope that there are better and sterling performances.  The list below shows some of the sporting events to look out for; 

• Commonwealth Games
• IRB Rugby series 2014/15 
• IAAF Grand Prix meets 
• World Cup qualifiers (rugby)
• Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers

Sports Secretary Dr. Hassan A. Wario - An Oath for Kenyan Sports

Daktari you must be now have learnt how to manoeuvre traffic in and around the KenCom house which houses your Ministry carved back into the Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs. We also remember your own words about the capacities of Culture and Arts being your forte but Sports not such a knowledgeable affair to you ( the 'corrupt' and those for the status quo must have smiled and winked at each other...).

First order of the day is to read and re-read the new Sports Act which was passed (thanks in part to your predecessor) earlier this year. Carry copies in you car,since now you're chauffeured into office, get it on your i-Pad or whatever gadget tickles your fancy. Get the technocrats in your Ministry to break down those technical terms and on a regular basis, consult widely with sports stakeholders not just officials in their respective sports organisations. This will serve you in good stead in the coming 4-5 years depending on when the mandate of this government ends.

Secondly, do ensure that as the Act prescribes ALL sports bodies - federations, associations or unions - carry the intended elections. We have a couple which have already been in abidance with that rule ( though majority were merely rubber-stamping the status quo). Keep these bodies in check by requiring regular reports and budgets review and where applicable ensure those not towing or keeping with the mandate of their bodies, chase them and sacrifice on the high altar of the rule of law. There needs to be a few heads rolling every now and then....you're a well-travelled man and you know what they do in China if you're declared corrupt in People's Republic.

Third, in your works in Culture and national museums, you must have learnt a thing or two about archiving and record keeping. Do dig those archives for reports from the 1987 All-Africa Games and subsequent All Africa Games, 1990s World Cross Country championships, Olympic Games reports from 1956-1972 &1984-2012 among others. Those will make you have a clear view of what happened to Kenyan sport and why we have either lost or gained in some sports disciplines.

Fourth, read sports policy documents from sporting countries like Australia, Brazil, China, USofA and even our colonial masters the UK. These countries have enshrined sports as mainstream activities and their governments 'have put their money where their mouths are'. The world over, unless the Government actively engages its populace in sport and make deliberate efforts to do so, Kenya shall suffer from the lethargy it has continued to suffer from in the last 20 years or so. Chairman Mao Tse Tung declared table tennis a national sport and you can see today what that sport has done for the country and its satellite states.

Fifth, you must also revisit the Jubilee manifesto to guide you on your appointing authority mandate & previous Government policies e.g. the reward system and recognition as national heroes.A major point is the investment in infrastructure in sports in at least 5 counties and building stadia and sports academies. It's a  shame that the country has not undertaken any major sports infrastructure development for most sports disciplines. It is sad that open spaces have either become grabbers' paradise or grazing fields for urban animal keepers or just suffering from neglect. A quick audit of all these facilities in the country will show those that can be secured by the state and those that the country governments can start working immediately. Together with the Local Government Ministry do ensure that urban planners factor open playing spaces and no not just the usual golfing fields but football, running tracks and other such facilities.

Sixth, there are some associations with some semblance of order, consult with those and ensure they have direct access to your office. They will need your office's guidance and support to secure regional and international competitions and the State should never again have to suffer the reputation that we did in 1996 of bidding for a continental competition only for the country to back out in the last minute ( Africa Cup of Nations, which was eventually hosted and won by South Africa).

Dr. Hassan A. Wario - Image courtesy of www.nation.co.ke

Seventh, curriculum in schools and higher institutions of learning should start emphasising on sports and the business around it. As we write this, only 2 universities in Kenya are offering course in sports management and physical activities. Even with such a rich heritage of sports achievers and sports leaders, surely we can start working on relevant curriculum for those willing to engage in sport not just on the field and pitch but also in the boardrooms and offices. We can have collaborations and short term course from reputable institutions such University of Michigan, Ohio State University, University of East London, Cardiff University to name just a few.

These 7 points we have sought to talk about will be more than enough for your 5-year term and achieving 7--80% of these will be major boon for Kenyan sport on the global scene. You undertook that oath, we keep the faith!

SIDENOTE:
Kindly consider opening Twitter accounts for your Ministry and one of own. Kenyans on Twitter famously known as #KOT who have a thing for sport will engage with you but be ready for baptism by fire...

Sports Bill - Let's Get Kenyan Sport started

After a 10-year heart-wrenching and sometimes frustrating journey, Kenyan sport will finally get its biggest shot in the arm. As the 10th Parliament prepares to end its stay, the one thing the Kenyan sports fraternity will be grateful for is their passing of the Sports Bill ( it awaits Presidential assent to become law as early as March 2013).

Kenya 50 years on - courtesy of www.1500questions.org

At least our lamentations to our Minister one Ababu Namwamba seems to have borne fruit and history will judge him accordingly.
The Sports Bill had a number of proposals which will among others ensure Kenyan sport changes and is run more professionally as well as addressing the revenue issues which plague majority of the sports bodies.


Check this out;

• establishment of Sports Kenya Development Authority ( mandated to oversee all sports activities, promote, co-ordinate and implement sports programs and manage sports assets and facilities countrywide among others);
• establishment of a National Sport Fund ( to raise and manage funds for sports authority as well as advise sports federations on appropriate financial grants among others);
• establishment of  a National Sports Institute ( to manage sports training facilities, promote research and development, check on current sporting trends and recommend appropriate practices to sports federations);
• registration and regulation of sports organisations and licensing ( creation of Registrar of Sports organisations, licensing of sports bodies - federation, club or otherwise, inspection of financial records and books among others)

Once the Bill is signed into law, existing sports bodies will have to register afresh and in some cases might have to elect new officials for fresh mandate. This has surely not gone down well with many of the current sports officials. The Bill also prescribes regular monitoring and evaluation of sports bodies through annual reports and returns to the Registrar.

It also offers the Secretary of Sport ( equivalent to the current Minister) to intervene and dissolve a sports body in case of disputes or mismanagement. This again has caused discomfort with some of the federations such as Football Kenya Federation which believe they're beyond any national government interference ( as FIFA honchos have always made national federations feel above the law).
The law has addressed the perennial headache of fund-raising which shall be taken care of by the Sports Fund. This will ensure future national and international representation will have sufficient funds to participate in events and also federations running their affairs smoothly.

But we in Kenyan sport should remain vigilant and ensure that the Sports Law is not just another clause in the Kenyan laws. Just like our legislators, most of the sports officials without interest in the development and growth of sport will fight back and stifle these developments. Law experts tell us that the law doesn't operate in a vacuum and isn't cast in stone - it is in the interests of all those involved to safeguard against its abuse. ( We know that a number of sports bodies campaigned for the removal of the clause limiting the terms of office for sports officials).

As the country marks the golden anniversary and in its over 60 years legacy in international participation in sport, the legislation will pave way for added investment and interest in Kenyan sport. It will ensure professionalism in running sports bodies and see that sport is firmly grounded in case of indiscipline.

Notice is served to all you charlatans running sport! Just like our outgoing MPs, start packing your bags too!

'Useless' Kenya Facts:
The 10th Parliament had quite a number of MPs who have either been sports personalities or managed sports organisations in one capacity or the other. Here are a few noteworthy ones;

1. Peter Kenneth (MP for Gatanga) - served as Chairman for Kenya Football Federation 1996 -2000( now Federation of Kenyan Football...semantics), played for now-defunct Re-Union as goalkeeper,
2. Alfred Khangati (MP for Kanduyi )- served as Chairman Kenya Volleyball Federation in the 1990s and
3. Dr. Sam Ongeri (MP for Nyaribari Masaba)- served as Chairman for Athletics Kenya 1974-84, 
4. Chris Obure (MP for Bobasi) - played for Gor Mahia in the 1970s ,
5. Elijah Lagat (MP for Emgwen) - former marathoner who won Boston (2000), Prague (1998) and Berlin (1997) marathons respectively,
6. John Harun Mwau ( MP for Kilome) - sharp-shooter who represented Kenya in the Olympics in 1968 and 1972 shooting category.

(...if anyone can recall any others, please help us note them)

Kenyan National Honours, who makes the Sports Category shortlist?

Jamhuri or Independence/Republic Day is usually the last major national day on the Kenyan calendar. This day also serves as  when the list of state commendations or honours are awarded to various Kenyan nationals who have served diligently and exceptionally within the given calendar year or in their lifetime. It is structured in the same vein of civil awards and decorations such as are awarded in the UK ( Kenya's former colonial master), US et cetera.

Kenya State Commendation Bars
Image courtesy  of http://www.coleccionesmilitares.com/

Immediately after Kenya's independence, the roll of honour was largely composed of politicians, businessmen, educationists and sadly cronies of the Government of the day. This was perpetuated in by the Moi government in the 1980s and 90s. Then came the Kibaki era which is coming to its sunset days. Again not much change there and though there have been a couple of deserving Kenyans who have been awarded, there are also some 'suprises' who show up every now and then. (FYI -In 2012, two of the President's children or is it First Family's were among those honoured)
Do you always wonder if you have made the list or at least someone who you know deserves? It was a bit of an embarrassment for the Kenyan state in 2004 when the Nobel Committee honoured Wangari Maathai with its Prize for Peace while back home the best we could do is offer her a Deputy Ministerial post with its lowly honours and priviledges.

All the same we have a list of the honours listed as follows;

• Order of the Golden Heart - Chief/First Class(only Kenyan Head of State & other exemplary people from other parts of the world are awarded this) denoted as CGH, Elder/Second Class (EGH), Moran/Third Class (MGH)
• Order of the Burning Spear - Chief (CBS), Moran (MBS) and Elder (EBS)
• Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW) 
• Silver Star (SS)
• Head of State Commendation ( HSC)
• Distinguished Service Medal
• Distinguished Conduct Order

This year there were a couple of sports personalities awarded including;

• David Lekuta Rudisha (MBS)
• Sam Nyamweya (MBS)

Last year's list included among others;

• Collins Injera (OGW)
• Humphrey Kayange (OGW)

Other previous honours include Catherine Ndereba (DSM & OGW), Tecla Loroupe (OGW), Ezekiel Kemboi (OGW), Jason Dunford (OGW) and Paul Tergat (MBS) to name but a few.

Pres. Kibaki garlands The Aga Khan with Chief of Golden Heart (CGH) honours - 2007

Now my beef starts with the 'economy of that list'. It was too short considering there are many sports personalities worthy of recognition whether still active, retired or post-humously. This has been done before. For example, Kenya never honoured her late boxing hero Robert Wangila Napunyi, marathoner Samuel Wanjiru, footballer Jonathan Niva, former tennis star Paul Wekesa et cetera.
Secondly, what criteria do the State operatives use to vet those deserving of these awards? Yeah what great honour did some of those mentioned bring us? For example, football honcho Sam Nyamweya though in charge of Football Kenya Federation currently, our take is that he has not really lived up to expectations. In fact, he could be part of why Kenyan football languishes in mediocrity. Look at how they handled the Henri Michel case. What about Sakata Ball?
Finally we're reminded that there was supposed to be a Heroes Corner at Uhuru Gardens. What happened to that initiative? Athletics Kenya came up with its own Sports Museum to try and honour those who achieved great deeds in the sport for the country, though it doesn't quite measure up to standards.

Next year at a time like this,we shall be having a new government and hope that they will improve on the way  we honour our sports people. They have been our greatest and most consistent ambassadors and should treated as such if not better!

Athletics Kenya distances itself from Olympic Report

After London Olympics' fiasco ( not entirely suprising from our quarters), Athletics Kenya President Mr. Isaiah Kiplagat sought to lay out the blame on other issues. Again no suprises there. Once the report is out, we shall analyse it and give our honest opinion(s) - hope they count for something.
But back to Mr Isaiah Kiplagat, as he answered questions from journalists fresh from London ( where he attended the Games as an IAAF Board member and guest). He said that the Government has been making these reports from Olympic Games since 1976 and none has been acted upon. He also said that Kenyan sports should look into other disciplines to seek medals from in future Games.
Well, Mr. President, we won't talk on behalf of the Government for not working on the reports since some of the officials involved in the fiasco are part of the blame. We had a similar situation in the All-Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique and nothing was acted upon. It was only going to be a repeat at a larger scale.
Other sporting disciplines bringing Kenya gold, first accept the blame for a dismal show in athletics which you head. Secondly explain to us the whole joke at the Prefontaine trials which AK heavily endorsed and Kenya didn't manage gold in any of the long races. Third, you might want to suggest a departure date since it's about time you called it a day for the athletics top job.

Enjoy your weekend though!

Kenya's Olympic Trials - Some 'Mini Olympics'

Its interesting that the races going on this weekend are referred to as trials, should be more like qualifiers...maybe we're unfazed by the English language... Speaking of the English, just over a month to go, Kenya shall be sending her contingent to London for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Athletics has been and remains Kenya's mainstay for the gold haunt.

With a total of 78 medals won in all Olympic Games Kenya has participated in, Athletics has won us, 69 - 28 Gold 27 Silver and 19 Bronze.

These Games will be no exception and this weekend, some of the races that Kenya expects to harvest medals in shall know its representatives. They are;

• 800m men
• 1500m men and women
• 3000m steeplechase (men)
• 5000m men and women

The qualifiers in these races will join others who have already qualified by virtue of attaining the times and being named by Athletics Kenya and include 4 x 400m men's team, javelin (men), marathon teams (both men and women) and the 10000m men and women.This is to hoping only the best emerge and no controversial decisions crop up from the complaints of wild card selections et al. 

We do wish the all athletes, the best in their respective races and let's pull one better than we did in Beijing 2008. The potent you have from last year's World Athletics Championships means you're true world-beaters. Our heritage with our former colonial masters ought to be good enough inspiration. 

Do it!

UPDATE:
Saturday marked the culmination of one of the hotly contested Olympic tickets in recent history. No major upsets were realised and most of the favourites registered good times and easily booked tickets. Preview of the some of those who made the final list of Olympic finalists is as follows;

Men:
800m - David Rudisha, Timothy Kitum, Job Kinyor
1500m - Asbel Kiprop, Nixon Chepseba, Silas Kiplagat
5000m - Isaiah Kiplangat, Edwin Soi, Thomas Longosiwa
10000m - Wilson Kiprop, Moses Masai, Bitan Karoki
Marathon - Wilson Kipsang, Abel Kirui, Emmanuel Mutai
400m hurdles - Vincent Koskei
3000m steeplechase - Brimin Kipruto, Abel Mutai, Ezekiel Kemboi
4 X 400m - David Rudisha, Mark Mutai, Vincent Mumo, Vincent Koskei, Anderson Mureta

Women:
800m - Pamela Jelimo, Janeth Jepkosgei, Winnie Chebet
1500m - Hellen Obiri, Eunice Sum, Faith Chepngetich
5000m - Vivian Cheruiyot, Sally Kipyego, Viola Kibiwott
10000m - Vivian Cheruiyot, Sally Kipyego, Linet Chepkirui
Marathon - Mary Keitany, Edna Kiplagat, Priscah Jeptoo
3000m steeplechase - Lydia Rotich, Mercy Njoroge, Milcah Chemos

ZUKU to air 2012 Samsung IAAF Diamond League Athletics series...

Diamond League logo - courtesy of IAAF

As part of improving its sports menu, Zuku has confirmed that it has live broadcast rights for the 2012 Diamond  League sponsored by Samsung ( now in its 4th year of sponsoring the League). With the Diamond Series having a total of 15 Grand Prix events which started in Doha on 11th May traversing various American, European and Asian cities with the final event being held in Brussels on 7th September 2012.
These Grand Prix events will be used by many athletes to warm up for the upcoming Olympic Games in London from July to August. It will also serve as great breeding grounds for upcoming talents for which Kenyan and African athletes have continually dominated especially in the middle to long distance races. The same will go for individual rivalries being settled by the cut of the tape. Further enticement from the organisers is breaking of world records in the individual disciplines for the favoured athletes.

ZUKU logo - courtesy of www.zuku.com

Entertainment for you the discerning athletics fans and watching audience of ZUKU programmes will be happy to note that the likes of Usain Bolt, David Rudisha, Vivian Cheruiyot, Pamela Jelimo have already run in the first 2 events and shall surely be part of some if not a fair share of the GPs.
As Hannelie Bekker -MD Wananchi Programming ( ZUKU) aptly put it, "ZUKU is proud to be broadcasting the 2012 Samsung Diamond League and proud of Kenyan athletes. They are some of Africa's brightest stars..."

The remaining Grand Prix events in the Diamond League series to be screened by ZUKU are as follows;

1. 31st May : Rome - Italy ( 2000 - 2200 hours Local East Africa time)
2. 2nd June: Eugene - USA ( 1130 - 1330hrs)
3. 7th June: Oslo - Norway ( 2000 - 2200hrs)
4. 9th June: New York - USA ( 1500 - 1700hrs)
5. 6th July: Paris - France ( 2000 - 2200hrs)
6. 13th July: London - England ( 1900 - 2100hrs)
7. 14th July: London - England ( 1500 - 1700hrs)
8. 20th July: Monaco - Monaco ( 2000 - 2200hrs)
9. 17th August: Stockholm - Sweden ( 2000 - 2200hrs)
10. 23rd August: Lausanne - Switzerland ( 2000 - 2200hrs)
11. 26th August: Birmingham - England (1500 - 1700hrs)
12. 30th August: Zurich - Switzerland (2000 - 2200hrs)
13. 7th September: Brussels - Belgium (2000 - 2200hrs)

Julius Yego - Profile of a future Olympian

For most of us, YouTube is a form of entertainment as well as watching 'edu-tainment' clips or the latest music videos. For sports lovers, it serves as a nice platform for catching and replaying precious moments in their favourite sports events.

Julius Yego - trail-blazing Kenyan javelin thrower 

Enter Julius Yego - this Kenyan athlete (... no, not the typical track specialist) had other ideas for YouTube. Participating in an event which has never been a speciality for Kenya let alone Africa, he managed to hone his skill and better his technique using this social media platform.
And true to word, his skill got better and his techniques won him the first ever gold medal for a field event for Kenya in the 2011 All-Africa Games in the Mozambican capital of Maputo. This he did by breaking the national record to a then new record throw of 78.34m ( he has since broken it once to 79.95m and attained standard B throw length for the London Olympics).
Thanks to his exploits and his parent sports association in the name of Athletics Kenya, he managed to secure 2 months training stint in Finland which effects led to his attaining qualifying standards. Hoping to better his throwing before the start of the July-August event, Yego will surely join the many sports men and women who have made Olympic folklore not just by becoming champions but also by the mere part of participating in this 4-year sporting extravaganza.
And he stills recognises the role that social media plays in his everyday life of ensuring he becomes a world beater in the throw sport of javelin....thanks to YouTube!
He's truly a Kenyan and African sports legend in the making. Here's an article from Chinese's Xinhua on Julius Yego.

Samuel Wanjiru's Book Doodloper ( Death Runner) is Out

In commemoration of Samuel Wanjiru's life on the first anniversary of his tragic death, a Dutch journalist Frits Conijn prepares to launch a book Doodloper ( Death Runner - The tragic end of Olympic marathon winner Samuel Wanjiru).

Doodloper - cover of the Samuel Wanjiru book

This famous athlete who died under mysterious circumstances in the yet-to-be resolved case was one of Kenya's best marathon who led from the front giving Kenya her first ever marathon gold in the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. This has set the pace for Kenyan marathoners who have grown in leaps and bounds in the last 24 months winning major marathons across the world and breaking the world record too in the men's race.
Back to Samuel Wanjiru's book, Frits Conijn and Simon Maziku ( Tanzanian-born now Dutch citizen) seeks to tell the story of the life beyond the marathoner's seemingly rosy success that he enjoyed to a rather lonely and sometimes fast-paced life that the runner led outside the race tracks.
It also tells of the downsides of the success borne by this great young man who was immensely talented as acknowledged by athletics critics. The book comes at a time when Kenya is busy preparing her team for the Olympic Games in London seeking to retain among others the marathon title that Wanjiru won.
The book should also be a constant reminder to upcoming talent of the need to stay grounded amidst the glitz and glamour that their careers are bound to bring. For more details, see this story by sports journo, Elias Makori in the Daily Nation - Tragedy behind Wanjiru's smile. You can also follow Frits Conijn on his Twitter handle @FritsConijn for updates on his travails across E.African and Dutch sport.

Kenyan Marathoners - Conquering the World but shall the rest of the team Emulate them?

The last two years have been quite phenomenal in Kenyan athletics. This is mainly due to the ever-enduring and sterling performances by our long- distance athletes and the speciality in discussion is the longer race - the marathon.
Running an approximate distance of 41.6 km ( 26 miles ) if you like on long routes, up some slope and down others and a usual flat course finish is no mean feat. If you have ever tried running this race, you'd know what we're talking about...maybe the next time a marathon comes near you, make a point of registering for it...start with the Nairobi StanChart one!

Number 1 !

Back to the gist of the story, so while our athletes have enjoyed unbridled success in the longer race, it has been a mixed bag of fortunes in lap races in the stadium meets...Grand Prix and others.
One of the stickiest points is the 5000m and 10000m races especially for the men's races. Much redemption has been made by our ladies who have continued growing in stature and stamina to conquer these longest races on the lap races.
But Athletics Kenya and the athletics fraternity in Kenya has not been able to break the jugger-naut. This is especially so, in major meets like the upcoming Olympic Games in London from July. Arguments were given and some frail explanations made about this failure which led to AK ceding control of the qualifiers for the 2 races. They've opted to host them in Prefontaine thanks to some ingenious Nike executive who's surely to mint some good brand mileage ( and maybe some $$$ too...)

Maybe the AK officials are looking for the wrong places to realise the elusive success in these events. They should ask themselves;

• How come the marathoners have been able to win over 75% of all major marathons around the world?
• What techniques have they devised to be able to win with such consistency and at such paces that last year the world record in the men's race was lowered by our very own athlete?
• What lessons can Team Kenya pick from the World Athletics team which managed double gold ( 1-2-3 for women) and (1-2 for men)  in the marathon races?
• Do Kenyan athletes need foreign tracks to prove their worth?
• Circa 1988 when Kenya had its best spread of medal haul from 800m to 5000m races in the men's races. What was the recipe for success then?
• Assume they do go ahead and run both the pre-qualifiers in Kenya and the qualifiers in Prefontaine, will they not be suffering from burn-out by the time they get to London in July?

These lingering thoughts ought to be food for thought for the officials charged with seeing the success of our team in this year's Olympic Games. Over to you Mr. Kiplagat and team ! ( Do we add Mr. Kip Keino & NOCK in the mix too...?) 

UPDATE:
Athletics Kenya announced the Kenyan marathoners to represent Kenya in the 2012 Olympic Games in London as follows;
Women:
Edna Kiplagat ( Current World Champion , women's marathon)
Mary Keitany ( 2-time winner of London marathon)
Priscah Jeptoo ( Silver medallist in 2011 Daegu World Athletics , women's marathon)

Men:
Abel Kirui ( 2-time World Champion marathon winner)
Moses Mosop ( 2011 Boston Marathon winner)
Wilson Kipsang ( 2-time Frankfurt Marathon winner & 2012 London Marathon winner)

African Cross Country championships - Kenya to top again?

Thanks to the IAAF's plan to switch the World Cross-country championships to biennial events the African athletics circuit will have its 3rd African Cross-Country championships. Confederation of African Athletics is all the more thankful for hosting one more event on its calendar.

Kenya - a previous host and major powerhouse in these forms of races will once again seek to battle it out with leading African challengers in the form of Ethiopia, and more recently Algeria, Eritrea and Morocco.
Last year the Kenyan teams in all races for men and women, both junior and senior saw the teams literally sweep all medals on offer. From individual titles of Gold, Silver and Bronze to team honours; even after sending what was 2nd-best since last year was a World Cross-Country championships year. The exception though was the failure of Ethiopia sending any of its athletes as the tightly-managed sport by the country's powers sought to shield their athletes from over-exposure.

This left IAAF President Lamine Diack complaining that the event has been turned into an East African affair - thanks to Kenya's dominance - turning away athletes from West Africa ( only Nigeria was represented from the West African countries. Mr. Diack himself is Senegalese so he might be having a point right there! )

36 countries have confirmed participation exceeding last year's lowly figure of 16. This will indeed ensure there is enough competition for top honours, men and women both at senior and junior levels. Some countries might want to use the meet as a warm-up to national selection for their teams to participate in the London Olympic Games later this year.

Will Kenya repeat her sterling performance? Will the rest of the African states come forth and push our athletes to the limit? Can Mr. Diack's myth be broken?
March 18th at Cape Town- South Africa will tell it all! All the best to our Kenyan representatives, make Kenya proud once again!

Pamela Jelimo & Hellen Obiri - We Salute you ladies!

As most sporting action had been turned to other sporting events, this weekend the World Athletics Indoor championships made sure that Kenyan sporting prowess was once again promoting the country's richness on the world stage.
Having had a past poor record in the event, most Kenyan journos had also not put much interest into the going-ons and this blogger too had overlooked what would be a memorable Sunday for the country. Since Kenya's first gold in 1989 in Budapest, thanks to one Paul Ereng ( who also won the 1991 gold medal in the 800m), our showing has been rather dismal with a few silver sprinkled among the other 4 gold the country has won in this indoor sports event.

From left, Kenyan starlets - Pamela Jelimo & Helen Obiri - image courtesy of www.nation.co.ke

Thus our hopes had been somewhat tempered not just by the country's poor showing but also by the fact that the athletes representing the country in the various races have not been having an easy time in their outdoor events. This was best exemplified by Pamela Jelimo who had dropped from competition in the past two seasons due to injury and also low self-esteem after storming onto the scene in 2008 and winning everything on offer that year.
But as they say, in sport you're only as good as your last event, two ladies in Pamela Jelimo and Hellen Obiri had their scripts to write and lead the country's slaught for places on the podium. Where their male counter-parts faltered, they picked themselves up and ensured a place for Kenya in the 2012 championships.
Big KUDOS for your wins!
So Athletics Kenya, can we manage a bigger squad for more honours for the indoor event? With the droves of young talent, our representation should be as all-rounded as it can be. A causory look at some of those events meant we would have been placed 2nd overall ...food for though in 2014, Sopot, Poland...

London 2012 Olympics - Are we Ready?

This year's main sporting event the Olympics is starting to get much coverage and it is bound to get busier as we approach the July -August date. Kenya's National Olympic Committee was reported as starting some semblance of arrangements to prepare respective disciplines for the Games.
But this is far from the reality and the first month of 2012 is gone. Save for the women's volleyball team which was pitching camp at Kasarani and Nyayo stadium ( depending on which facility the SSMB would allow them to use), most of the other sporting disciplines are yet to start any formal camp.
Realistically the disciplines we might be represented in are Athletics, Swimming, Volleyball, Rowing and Boxing with the latter two engaged in leadership squabbles. Those which might bring in any form of medals are 2-3 but if the right preparations and technical expertise is employed 4 of these should reap some medals.
For the longest time, Kenyan teams preparing for international events have been under-training and the respective sports management bodies engaged in leadership squabbles, often involving financial help given to those in the team and also to secure freebies to such events.
The Government though pledging and putting in the necessary financial assistance and attractive bonuses, has not sought more transparency and accountability from the respective sports bodies.
It is tragic that the innocent sports people are the ones who suffer for the 'sins' of their superiors. While teams like Britain have been having their athletes holding their camp in the Kenyan Rift Valley, we have yet to get the camp of our national athletes even those who might not make it. Our sources tell us the Kenyan swimmers led by Jason Dunford, are hard at training and should pull a suprise amidst the traditional powers in the pool.
Boxing and Rowing we're still gathering information though not much is forthcoming from the respective national officials.

The Government of Kenya's busy working on other 'national issues' though promises have been made to avail at least half of the around KSh. 400 million required to send the team to London. other bodies such as Brand Kenya are tagging along to seek to sell the country as a worthy national brand not just with the traditional forms of tourism - game watching, beaches but also sports tourism.
GoK also formed a National Steering Committee to look into preparations of the London team and source for the reminder of the funds. This is an arduous task by any means. We also have the yet-to-be launched National Lottery...

146 days and counting...

IAAF World Athlete of the Year ...Vivian Cheruiyot surely deserved IT!

Over the weekend, the IAAF accorded the world's athletes a chance to wine and dine with some of the best in the sport and also honoured the finest athletes for the 2010-11 season at a gala dinner in the high-status island of Monaco. Kenya had a reason to watch this more carefully as two of its best athletes this season were among finalists in a selection for the top honours of World Athlete of the Year - Male & Female. But no it was not going to be ...A local daily had even splashed the story in a 2-page feature only to quickly apologise to its readers for the anomaly. Sally Pearson was named as the World Athlete of the Year- Female ( the Male one was always going to one of the Jamaicans after they wowed the world at the Athletics championships in Daegu taking the 100m, 200m & crowning it with the 4x100m relay in world record time).

So that we don't seem like we're just saying this to run our mouths & trumpet our nation's exploits, let's look at the facts and achievements here to show the difference between Vivian Cheruiyot and Sally Pearson;
Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya):

Vivian Cheruiyot

2010:
Gold - Africa Athletics  championship (5000m)- Nairobi
Gold - Commonwealth Games( 5000m)-  New Delhi, India
Gold - Continental Cup ( 5000m) - Split, Croatia
Silver - World Indoor  championships ( 3000m) - Doha, Qatar

2011:        
Gold - World Cross-Country championships ( Senior Women) - Punta Umbria, Spain
NB: Helped Senior Women win overall title too. 
2 Gold - World Athletics championships ( 5000m & 10000m) - Daegu, South Korea
NB: She retained the 5000m which she won the 2009.


Sally Pearson ( Australia):
2010:
Gold: Commonwealth Games (100m hurdles) - New Delhi, India

2011:

Sally Pearson 

Gold: World Athletics championships ( 100m hurdles) - Daegu, South Korea
NB: Worthy mentions, broke National & Oceania record to 12.48 secs


While the IAAF used the 'excuse; that Sally won 10 of 11 competitions she entered, Vivian on the hand did not lose any race she was entered, even national trials which are usually a killer if you ask any Kenyan athlete. So that doesn't fly with us.( No offence to Sally Pearson's person, but the facts are just that FACTS!)

Maybe the IAAF powers-that-be know something we don't but for us, Vivian Cheruiyot remains the World Athlete of the Year and not the Performance of the Year b******t you awarded to this sterling lady. Maybe they had other thoughts of trying to appeal to a wider world audience especially for the people down under. or maybe Kenyans just threaten changing athletics' world order, wonder what would happen if an African sprinter upset the form book...

Consolation:
One John Velzian - a well-tested hand in athletics in Kenya who has helped map out consecutive routes of the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon as well as the 2007 World Cross Country championship track among others in country and the region; who also doubles up as a youth coach and training expert. He has seen the growth and development of athletics since the late 1950s to the current times. He was awarded the Coaching Lifetime Achievement Award ...( guilt conscience IAAF or what?).
Check out this article from the Sports Illustrated archives on this 'unappreciated' athletics legend in Kenya here 

2011 World Athlete of the Year Award - IAAF nominates 3 Kenyans

IAAF announced the nominees for the 2011 World Athlete of the Year Awards both men and women. Kenya got its 3 names with last year's winner David Rudisha and Patrick Makau nominated for the men's award while Vivian Cheruiyot was nominated for the ladies version.

Image courtesy of www.iaaf.org

Going by the exploits on the track (and field where applicable), Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot is heads and shoulders above most of the nominees, sample this;

Vivian Cheruiyot in Daegu 2011 - www.iaaf.org

In 2010, she won the African championships in 5000m held in Nairobi and also won the gold in the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi in October. She competed in the Diamond League being part of the winnings that same season. She crowned the year by winning the 5km race in Bolzano, Italy known as the BOClassic  popularly known as the Corsa Internazionale di San Silvestro.
Come 2011, she started her year by leading Kenya's senior women's cross-country team to collecting individual and team titles. The big one though was the World Championships held in Daegu where she opted to do both the 5000m and 10,000m easily collecting gold in both events; a first from any Kenyan both male or female.
Our other two nominees for finalists would be Valeria Adams -shot-putter and Sally Pearson -100m women's hurdler.
As for the men, our bet is on Usain Bolt taking the male category. After missing out the better part of last year through injury, he was the best bet for double gold in 100 & 200m but a disqualification meant he ended up with the 200m but came back to anchor the Jamaican 4x100m men to end the World Championships on a high ( while breaking the world-record at it!).
The other 2 nominees would be fellow Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake and David Rudisha.
According to www.iaaf.org; an e-mail poll is ongoing to close on 23rd October, after which 3 finalists in both male and female categories will be selected and announced by the IAAF. The winners will be announced from these during the 2011 World Athletics Gala on 12th November.

What IAAF can teach FIFA

Coming after a successful World Championships at Daegu - South Korea, the world athletics body IAAF, can offer a lesson or two to the football world's governing body. Though IAAF is not as big as the monolith that FIFA is, these two bodies run their respective independent disciplines overseeing what the national associations undertake among others. While one is more or less an individual sport, the other is a team sport with slightly more challenges in its running and management.

What can FIFA learn:
- Any sport federation/association is larger than a single individual - while FIFA has focused much of its day-to-day running to one individual or set of people, this has meant the focus has almost become more about the individual than the sport. It is true that the President ( oh how they love these titles) becomes the global ambassador of the sport but his word should not be law and the secrecy with which some his day-to-day management practices are only add more questions than there are answers.
In the IAAF, they have managed to demystify the organisation and no single individual is all-towering, all-powerful to overshadow it.

- Commercialise but don't be greedy - the level at which each of the sport operates have been succesful largely due to the adoption of commercial aspects in the 1970s (for FIFA) and 1980s (for IAAF). These have seen the organisations stage some of the most successful events in recent across the world to varied audiences all the while meant to appeal to a wider global audience. But this commercialisation should NOT be on over-kill. Sample this, over the last 2 World Cups, FIFA has made profits much to the chagrin of the host nations who are left with infrastructure that they either don't need or use and much-maligned governments who go all out to deliver the goods but neglect their citizenry. IAAF on the other hand has seen most of its events held with modest budgets and less of a strain to most of the host nations. This is from the World Cross-Country to the World Athletics Championships.

- Do not micro-manage national federations , and they should be open to dissolution or otherwise - FIFA's national bodies across the world run like semi-autonomous bodies with little interference from the national governments of the day. This maybe a boon or a bad idea from whichever side you want to view it. Classic case, look at Kenya. We have a vibrant football culture but the game is almost dead at national level. Compare that with their athletics counterparts...most of this is repeated in other developing economies.

- Where there is smoke , there is fire - corruption claims have almost always riddled sport and both disciplines are no exception. But while FIFA dithers and seeks to bury their dirt under the carpet, IAAF has dealt with such claims rather swiftly. Once a claim is made of a corrupt official, they are asked to step aside with little or no fuss. Look at the ruckus that accompanied the departure of football officials in the names of Jack Warner and Mohammed bin Hamamm for FIFA? And you can be sure this is not the last you are hearing of either...

With these few tid-bits, sports associations should know that sport is universal and while commercial interests have pervaded most sporting disciplines, let's not forget to enjoy running the sport for the greater good of those who participate and earn from it. The world should be entertained and wowed by sport NOT turned off and wondering what might have happened.

World Athletics in Daegu - Kenya's Chances

The 13th and so far largest World Athletics Championships starts in Daegu( the country's 'greenest city')- South Korea in 5 days. Kenya as one of the athletics powerhouse is expected its largest contingent. But as we'd know size does not always matter as other countries have been easily eroding the chances our athletes have of reaping more medals.Image courtesy of www.IAAF.org

Ethiopia is by far the largest threat in the middle and longer distance races especially with the return of our nemesis, Kenenisa Bekele. We also have the Ugandan-born middle distance runners who gave Kenyans a scare during the Commonwealth Games.
We shall look at the chances that our athletes have as follows;
MEN:
800m ( Prediction:Gold & Silver)
Unless they pick injuries , David Rudisha and Alfred Kirwa are the athletes to beat in this 2-lap race. Having broken the world record last season twice in less than week and enjoying an unbeaten season so far in the Grand Prix, Rudisha has been setting the pace for this in the last 1 year. After Usain Bolt, he's athletics other easily recognisable and biggest name in the last 2 years. Kirwa might also sneak in for a silver.

1500m ( Gold & Bronze)
The race will most likely be between Silas Kiplagat and Asbel Kiprop. The latter has often gone against grain much to the coaches chagrin and thus lost races he would have easily won. But world supremacy is beckoning and what better stage than this to prove it. Kiprop for gold & Kiplagat for bronze.

3000m Steeplechase ( Gold, Silver & Bronze) Kenya's preserve in major sporting functions, it will not about who will win but rather how they shall be placed. Sample this, two Olympic gold medallists and African winners as well as fastest time this season in the race? The bet is on Brimin Kipruto take the tape. Will Mateelong stop playing second fiddle to Kemboi & Kipruto? Let's see...

5000m ( Silver)
This is where the Ethiopians have taken on us with a vengeance. With Kenenisa Bekele, it is noteworthy that he's not coming back to get warmed up but to show he still has some gas left in those nifty heels. This is his easily his gold with his worthy opponent Eliud Kipchoge finally bowing out of World Championships with a silver. He will have to beat former champ & Kenyan born US athlete Bernard Lagat & Somali-origin GB's athlete Mo Farah.

10000m ( Bronze)
This is another race that has eluded the Kenyans in the last 3 World C'ships and this time it is not any different. The Ethiopians shall either prop Kenenisa Bekele to his 2nd gold or Silesh Sihine will get his first gold ( remember he was second to Bekele in the 2007 c'ships...). Tadesse from Eritrea is also expected to chase the pack but on this one, he gets the silver.

Marathon ( Silver)
Having lost Kenya's (and may arguably the best marathoner) in the form of Samuel Wanjiru earlier this year, the Kenyan brothers will need to dig deep to challenge for this. Abel Kirui who is the reigning champ might not have the same spikes like he did last time. Ethiopia's G. Gebremariam is our main prospect for the gold. This is usually the last race of the championships .

4 x 400m( Bronze)
Hoping the team is not disqualified like they have been in major athletics events, this team will pull an upset and place 2nd or 3rd in this speciality. Riding on a succesful wave in the continental championships and Commonwealth Games last year and anchored by Mark Mutai, its about time our men emulated the 1972 Munich Games brothers ( which included David Rudisha's dad Daniel Rudisha).


WOMEN
800m ( Gold )
Janeth Jepkosgei will be looking over her shoulder to beat Caster Semenya. With the absence of Pamela Jelimo was the phenomenon in 2008 again misses the World Championships due to injury. The battle is between Janeth & Caster both former winners of this race.

1500m ( Bronze)
This is a very modest prediction and yes we do love our sisters but Ethiopian-born Bahraini Maryam Yusuf Jamal looks to make it 3-out-of-3. Nancy Lagat might be on that podium but not for the gold.
3000m steeplechase (Gold & Bronze)
We thought the ladies run a shorter race in the Olympics and Commonwealth but there is the likelihood the ladies would love to emulate their brothers and come home with the prize. Milcah Chemos is looking all ready to conquer the world, let's see who joins her on the podium.

5000m ( Silver)
Vivian Cheruiyot the reigning champ and having the world's leading time will be trying to prove a point and give a run of the Ethiopian's money. Meseret Defar and Genzebe Dibaba shall be chasing her down the tracks and one of them shall reign supreme.

10000m ( Bronze)
The Ethiopian threat shall be back again and Linet Masai shall be trying to get back her own but again we shall not be up to the pace of these ladies. Melkamu is itching for revenge and we shall see her in her best colours.

Marathon ( Bronze)
Another disappointing outing it will be and maybe just maybe we shall come back with a bronze. Wondering aloud where Catherine Ndereba is, we shall nominate Edna Kiplagat or Irene Kosgei.

In earnest we hope these predictions turn out NOT TO BE TRUE but then again it is just WISHES.
The added incentive for the athletes from the TDK and Toyota who are the main sponsors (among others) of these championships is that the winners and those placed 2nd to 8th shall be rewarded. The scheme is as follows;

Individuals:

a) Gold - US$ 60,000
b) Silver- US$ 30,000
c) Bronze - US$ 20,000
World Record breakers entitled to US$ 100,000
{4th-15,000; 5th-10,000; 6th-6000; 7th-5000; 8th-4,000}


Relays (Teams):
a) Gold - US$ 80,000
b) Silver - US$40,000
c) Bronze - US$ 20,000
{4th-16,000; 5th-12,000; 6th-8,000; 7th-6,000; 8th-4,000}
Marathon (Teams):
a) Gold - US$ 20,000
b) Silver - US$16,000
c) Bronze - US$ 12,000
{4th-10,000; 5th-8,000; 6th-6,000}

You can see more detailed previews of the Daegu Championships here and also follow the races live here . Or follow their Twitter handle @daegu2011org .

All-Africa Games 2011 - Is Kenya ready for Continental Take-over?

2011 sees the start of what ought to be a busy 2 years for most sporting associations in the country. Yes we have the continental championships in the form of All-Africa Games this year being held in Maputo (official site here) starting us off. The next major sporting event is the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London - a major one since Britain are Kenya's former colonial masters...
Back to the All-Africa Games, over the years, these Games have enjoyed or lost their glare depending on the country hosting them and again because the prestige attached to the Pan-Africa games have been eroded by more commercially lucrative sporting events for the different sporting disciplines.
Again the secretariat that run the AAG have not been able to get the Games to be a major attraction to the continent's different states. As is often the case with most African states saying or promising one thing and actually doing another, the same has been the case with AAG. Remember that fiasco that almost became of the 4th All-Africa Games with Kenya hosting the continent 9 full years after 2 postponements?
The current Games were handed to Mozambique after initial hosts Zambia were unable to host due to lack of funds. Even current hosts Mozambique have their own challenges with them not having a hockey pitch worth hosting international games.
So what chance does Kenya have of topping the tables at the AAG?
1987:
The best performance the country has enjoyed was back in 1987 thanks of course to hosting them. That year and the build-up to the Games produced some of the best years for Kenyan sport with the national football team being a regional powerhouse & almost beating Egypt in a controversial final game ( we must remember that is the same year that Gor Mahia achieved continental supremacy in the club Africa Cup Winners Cup - Nelson Mandela Cup). The athletics team was able to hone skills that aided them in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games where we harvested 4 gold medals.


The boxing team 'The Hit Squad' was in no nonsense moods and collected 10 out of a possible 12 gold medals and went on to produce Africa's first gold medal at the Korea Olympics thanks to the late,Robert Wangila Napunyi.
Other success stories were the hockey team was represented Africa albeit with no win at the 1988 Olympics; a medal in tae-kwo-ndo & also the emergence of Kenya's women's volleyball from their male counterparts.

2011:
24 years later, the dynamics have changed drastically. We have the usual shenanigans of lack of funds, more corrupt sports officials and vested interests among a myriad of challenges. The Sports Ministry has announced that Kenya will be represented in 19 disciplines out of the possible 23, laudable so far. But that's almost where the good news ends.
Of all the sporting teams, the athletics one is the only one which conducted competitive and transparent team selection. Most of the other associations are plagued by disagreements over team selection, availability of funds and officials. Take a case of the boxing team, officials are busy suspending each other, while the game has lost its place in the national sporting scene. Where the team was enjoying participation to continental and international championships such the King's Cup in Bangkok, there is no team worth talking about. The last time we sent a team to the Commonwealth Games it was some embarrassment with most of the boxers not able to keep up with modern scoring techniques and really no punching worth their gloves.
Look at the hockey,basketball, tae-kwon-ndo teams to name but a few. Pathetic to say the least...
The Assistant Minister of Sports announced that there would be no joy-riders on the teams going down south.

• Good pronouncement but aren't you the people charged with the responsibility of securing the nation's interest for the good of our sportsmen and women?
• Except for Athletics Kenya, Kenya Rugby Union, how are the other sporting bodies even still in existence? If not trying to give a semblance of a league, most are walking ghosts with officials out to enjoy office trappings for their own selfish gains and allowances leaving bankrupt bodies.
• What sense is there in carrying a bloated team in the name of representation & national pride instead of a few well-selected and competitive teams which are almost certain of securing victory in their disciplines?
• Mr. Minister Sir, even in our beloved athletics we have seen the national team selection take place only for our brothers and sisters to go falter at the continental stage after mismanagement by their agents and lack of proper training schedules. What plans do you have in place to ensure this doesn't happen?
• You have done great to change the lot for sporting people and teams going for national representation. Great that you are committing KShs.200 million of the 300 meant for preparing the contingent to Mozambique. But do you usually insist on comprehensive reports from these assignments and do you ever act on them anyway?
• All-Africa Games should be the breeding ground for our teams to shine on the bigger international stage at next year's Olympic Games. What is the Government doing to improve on previous performances and restore Kenya's pride on that stage?
• We had our swimmers do a great job in Algiers in 2007, Beijing 2008 and last year in New Delhi. Do they stand a chance of winning more medals and making us even more proud in London next year?

Answers to this questions will mean our participation in Maputo will not be another joyride and restore some pride to the country as well as ensure nurturing budding talent which is waiting in the wings. Anything short of those answers and Bwana Waziri, you shall be carrying 200 athletes and 200 officials busy on a sight-seeing trip and learning the local Portuguese dialect more than national duty.
It's your call!

Check our earlier post on 2007 All-Africa Games as well as SportsNewsArena's article on 2011 AAG.