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? 

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!

Olympics 2012 - Kenya, This is IT!

The 4 year cycle is over & this time London it is! The Olympic Games - multiple-sport biggest sporting extravaganza. And Kenya is firmly in there to claim its place. For those who read this blog, we'll give a few of our own thoughts on what we think of Kenya's hopes at these Games;

Flying the Kenyan Flag

Athletics:
Our (over)-reliance on this means once again, it is and remains the biggest prospects for medals. There are quite a number of world-beaters, from world champions to world record holders as well as reigning Olympic medallists.
Predictions:
800m:
Men (Gold)  Women (Gold)

1500m:
Men (Gold and Silver) Women (Silver)

3000m steeplechase:
Men ( Gold, Silver & Bronze); Women ( Gold and Bronze)

5000m:
Men ( Bronze); Women ( Silver)

10000m
Men (Silver); Women ( Gold)

Marathon:
Men (Gold and Bronze); Women ( Gold, Silver)

4 X 400m (Men) - The one-lap runners will most likely make to the Final (if they don't drop the baton or run outside their lane). But the traditional teams of US, Caribbean and even Team GB will still be too strong to overcome.

Javelin: It will be a honourable mention to Julius Yego but he can't beat the Eastern Europeans and Scandinavian throwers. They're way ahead technically and physically. 


Boxing:
No offence to our boxers but the best we can manage is a Bronze by Benson Gicharu. This is because the game is quite technical nowadays and the scoring system is quite something. The preparations were not up to standard but this Kenyan cop can pack a punch all the way to the semis.

Swimming:
Jason Dunford will once again get to the Finals of the 100m butterfly on the back of some great outings in the World Swimming c'ships and Africa c'ships & All-Africa Games. David Dunford might also make it through the heats but as for the Finals, still anyone's guess...

Weighlifting:
This is another sport Kenya has never quite excelled at Olympic Games level and this year it won't be any different. The techniques, lack of proper training as well as physical challenges are some of the reasons why.

Total Medal Haul Forecast:
 8 Gold 5 Silver & 4 Bronze
Put on a good show Kenyans and we shall be rooting for you to beat our medal forecast and bring more home. We shall be proud as always for your sterling show! Go #TeamKenya!

Road to Olympics - Beijing 2008 Olympics Games

Beijing 2008 logo - courtesy of www.olympic.org

In the final part of our Road to Olympics, we look at the most recent Games the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games held in China.


These Games were in many ways the 'coming out' party for the People's Republic of China and indeed they put up a great spectacle. From modern venues to a well-choreographed opening ceremony, the Games were one of the biggest in recent times. There were other major milestones which included live broadcasts done via Internet as well as the emergence of social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter which would change the way sport was viewed and reported. The shadow of Chinese authorities censorship did not escape observers though this was largely undone during the span of the Games.


Highlights:

• China's hosting meant that they emerged top of the medals standings by a haul - 51 Gold  compared to USA's 36 - in the process setting a new record for most medals won in any single Games without boycotts (USSR had won 80 Gold in 1980 & USA 83 in 1984 but both had major boycotts).
• The Bird's Nest & Water Cube ( Beijing National Stadium and Beijing National Aquatics Center respectively) were some of the more enduring venues of any Olympic Games.
• Concerns of pollution and insecurity had been expressed before the start of the Games but none of these came to fore during the Games exonerating the Beijing organisers.
• Li Ning's lighting of the torch was also one of the biggest highlights of the Games ( marketers also note it for the fact that he used his own shoe label instead of China's official sponsors, Nike).
• More than 100 Heads of States and Governments attended the Games during its whole duration. This is in addition to the 205 countries attending through their respective National Olympic Committees.
• Michael Phelps finally broke the record for most gold medals in a single Olympics taking 8 Gold and breaking 7 world records and 1 Olympic record in the process.
• Liu Xiang broke his home fans by dropping out of the 110m hurdles race which he had been favoured to win.

Beijing 2008 mascots

Kenyan Highlights:

• After poor shows in the 1990s and early 2000s, Kenya finally reigned supreme taking 6 Gold 4 Silver and 4 Bronze ( 5 were won at the Games while the 6th was awarded to 1500m men 2nd-placed Asbel Kiprop after initial winner Bahrain's Rashid Ramzi was stripped for use of illegal substances)
• Women medallists equalled the men  winning 3 Gold same as their male counterparts.
• Other medallists included ; Gold -  800m women Pamela Jelimo, Wilfred Bungei 800m men, Nancy Lagat 1500m women, Brimin Kipruto 3000m men's steeplechase and (the late)Samuel Wanjiru - men's marathon; Silver - Janeth Jepkosgei 800m women, Eunice Jepkorir 3000m women's steeplechase , Eliud Kipchoge  5000m men and Catherine Ndereba - women's marathon, while Bronze went to Alfred Kirwa 800m men, Richard Mateelong 3000m steeplechase, Edwin Cheruiyot 5000m men and Micah Yogo 10000m men.
• In swimming Jason Dunford, temporarily held the Olympic record for the 100m butterfly men's event winning his Heat (7) in 51.14 seconds ( it's now the African and Kenyan record). He did make the finals but was placed 7th. No mean achievement in itself! 
• Kenya also sent a rower Matthew Lidaywa -who placed 30th in the finals of the Single Sculls- another first for the country in any Olympics!

Kenyan Sporting Families: Now you know where the pedigree comes from

Tikolos, Dunfords, Sudis,  Ilakos, among many others are household names in the Kenyan sporting scene . Yes as you may noticed, most of them had plurals because there is more than one member of the family that has made their cut in different sporting discipline or more than one member makes the cut in a particular sport.

Take for example the Tikolos; a few weeks ago we saw the end of an era when the last of the cricket playing brothers from the Tikolo family, Steve retired from the sport after gracing it for more than 15 years having won many hearts in the country and across the seas. His other famous brothers who also one time held the position of Chief Executive at Cricket Kenya Tom and also former player David.

Other famous siblings in cricket include the Sujis (Martin and Tony), Obuyas (Kennedy, Collins and David) Ngoches ( James and Shem) and the Odumbes (Maurice and Edward).

The Obuyas - Image from www.kiranonlycricket.blogspot.com

The Ilakos you ask? Well there was a time Kenya played for the African zone of the Davis Cup in tennis. One of the players playing for Kenya was Philip Ilako (nowadays he’s MD of some mid-level bank I guess). The other playing Ilako was James.

Dunfords, who doesn’t know the exploits of these brothers in the pools of the African Swimming Championships, All-Africa Games, Commonwealth and also the Olympics (albeit briefly). Jason is the trailblazer with David spoiling for a place on the podium slowly but surely. Their other less famous brother Robert plays rugby in the UK where’s attending college.

From Left - David & Jason Dunford with a lady & gent fan - Image courtesy of www.sky it

Rugby has many household names but the current ones taking the lion’s share are Humphrey Kayange and Collins Injera while their younger brother Michael has some uphill task trying to make at least the national team like the two elder ones. Their father is also a former rugby player back in the day.

We have Daniel Rudisha one of the gold medallists in the 4x400m Munich Olympic Games whose son David Lekuta Rudisha did one better breaking the world record and literally scorching the tracks last season in the IAAF circuit to emerge as World Athlete of the Year as well as Kenya’s Sportman of the Year.

The family that is hogging much of the media’s attention now is the Wanyamas. The matriarch one Noah Wanyama started it all playing with AFC Leopards and also the national team Harambee Stars. His sons have followed suit with Sylvester –Sony Sugar, Thomas – Sofapaka FC , with Victor Mugabe making history as Kenya’s first football player in the Scottish League signing with Celtic FC and of course the most famous of the Wanyama’s MacDonald Mariga Wanyama Inter Milan’s FC defensive midfielder. Their sister Mercy Ayitso has also recently obtained a scholarship in the California Baptist University which plays in the NCAA women's basketball league.

As has happened in other sporting fields, these families have led the way in winning accolades for their clubs, countries and securing honour and a place in history. For all you seeking a firm place in sport and have a sibling or two in one or another game, you have it written and trendsetters to learn from.

Collins Injera & Humphrey Kayange perform a celebratory dance after a try

As a country, we also have to learn to honour our sporting heroes something we have not always done all too well. Their place to some of us sporting enthusiasts is forever etched in our minds and firmly in the history of our country.

Kenya's Best Commonwealth Outing - Our Future looks Bright...

Thanks to our athletes our very modest predictions have been clearly outdone and that's great to note. The success of the outing is a great motivator to future generations engaging in sport - at least now we can build on something and not rest on our laurels.
Though major sporting nations were not represented, this didn't stop our sportsmen putting on a good showing and going the extra mile to ensure they challenged the pecking order of Commonwealth nations. This was our best outing ever at the Club Games and we shall shine the spotlight on a few of the sportsmen/women we thought did a great job out there;

1) Jason Dunford (Gold Medal 50m Butterflystroke) - Without any doubt, he is edging his place into the history books from his international outings. Coming from a non-traditional country in the swimming circles and also given the fact they we do not have the right facilities, the gods have been good to their cause with the university (Stanford) providing a great training ground. The family has also been more than supportive helping ensure the boys get training facilities in Europe which have been well tested. His past African and Olympic exploits are coming to fruition and still rising.
If those who award national awards are listening those Elder of the Golden Heart and Moran of the Burning Spear should not be awarded to taciturn and bureaucratic civil servants and politicians, these are the people who deserve them.
Verdict: 5 Stars

2) Nancy Jebet Langat( 800m & 1500m Gold )-At the 2008 Olympic Games, Kenyans read the headlines of a double gold medal win - one from the 800m men's contest by the more flamboyant and captain of Kenyan team Wilfred Bung'ei. The other gold was from the then little known Nancy Jebet -who's so unassuming other athletes underestimate her tenacity. Well this year she springs another suprise by doing a double in yes her speciality the 1500m and 800m. Some may say that the top athletes in the distance in the likes of Pamela Jelimo, Janeth Jepkosgei and South Africa's Caster Semenya were not around but who cares? She did her bit and was rewarded for that.
Verdict: 5 Stars

Mark Mutai just makes it - courtesy of Nation.co.ke

3) Mark Kiprotich Mutai (400m Gold Medal & 4x400m silver ) - having shown some great sprint work at the African Athletics Championships and being denied a bronze medal in the individual 400m race he made it even sweeter stretching the Australian in the 400m and winning by the slimmest of margins. He also anchored the 4x400m relay team and scorched the track and missing the gold but settling for second-best.
Verdict: 4 Stars


4) Milcah Cheywah, Mercy Wanjiru Njoroge, Gladys Jerotich Kipkemoi (3000m Women's Steeplechase Gold , Silver & Bronze )  - theirs may have seemed like an easy race but when you come up and decide to share the spoils between yourselves and annihilate the competition from the other countries, that's no mean achievement. The water obstacle and how one jumped as they said is what won the race and  Milcah led the way for a Kenyan 1-2-3 sweep.
Verdict: 3 Stars

5) Irene Kosgei & John Eriku Elai ( Women & Men's Marathon Gold ) - waiting for an event till the last day in the humid conditions of the Indian sub-continent is not an easy thing. It also doesn't help when all your role models are busy winning the marathons in more lucrative races as the Boston, Berlin marathons portend. But the two decided to run their races and the former Irene led another Irene ( Mogake) into a 1-2 for the Commonwealth race.
Verdict: 3 Stars


6) Boaz, Richard and Abraham Kiplagat(not related) (800m Gold,Silver and Bronze) - slowly making up for lost ground are the men's 800m athletes who are trying to emulate the 1980s & 90s exploits of Billy Konchellah, Paul Ereng and William Sigei. They did this with style getting another 1-2-3 sweep.
Verdict : 3 Stars

Grace Momanyi - courtesy of Flickr

7) Grace Momanyi ( Gold Women 10000m) & Silas Kiplagat (1500m Gold) - She and Doris Chepkwemo gave Kenyans another 1-2 finish which continued the trend of the Kenyan athletes in the Games. Same case to Silas Kiplagat leading James Kiplangat in the 1500m race.
Verdict: 3 Stars


Special Mentions:
- Grace Wanjiru - 20 Km Bronze medallist
- Richard Mateelong  & 3000m Steeplechase medallists
- Benson Njangiru - Silver Medallist - Flyweight
- Rugby Sevens Team ( very modestly here for beating Samoa at most)


By close of the Games, Kenya topped the athletics medal table  11 Gold, 10 Silver & 9 Bronze medals( ahead of South Africa and Nigeria...hehehe) and that's a great achievement. As said there earlier, if the Kenyan authorities were to be genuine enough in awarding national honours, these are some who deserve to be on that roll.  We had also kept our forecast realistic but they have proved they have what it takes to be at international meets.

Brand Kenya too needs to wake from the slumber (though we are told someone is working on it....imagine someone in India remembers Maurice Odumbe even after we sacrificed him on the corridors of justice....tragic!)

Breaking News : Kenya wins her 1st Swimming Gold medal ever in Commonwealth Games

Contrary to our predictions, Kenya's swimming sensation did the country proud by winning Kenya's first gold medal in the pool by touching the wall first in the 50m butterfly. Congratulations for this and we shall keep our hopes alive for a fair medal tally this year!

Commonwealth Games 2010 : Kenya's Medal Hopes

2 days to go; we shall look at what medal hopes Kenya has hoping to work some magic and join the Commonwealth nations in throwing a great party in New Delhi. Much work has been done by the Indian authorities trying to get some reprieve from the hostile media coverage and even gotten fair endorsement from the IOC supremo Jacques Rogge. 
We have also had our reservations but let's give our Asian brothers the benefit of doubt to put out something memorable.What chances do we have of beating the 2006 medal haul of 6 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze medals? Here's our take (DISCLAIMER: nothing scientific in determining this...);


Athletics:
This is our forte and shall continue being for the longest time. A great team assembled but some withdrawals from the 800m pair of David Rudisha and Janeth Jepkosgei ( and injury to Pamela Jelimo) means the star performers are reduced. There are also a couple of star athletes who gave the Games a miss for one reason or the other.

Ezekiel Kemboi - Kenya's Team Captain & 3000m medal prospect

Men 
800m:- (Silver) ; 1500m:-(Gold & Silver) ; 3000m:-(Gold & Silver) ; 5000m:- (Silver) ; 10000m:-(Bronze)
4x400m:- (Bronze) ; Marathon (none)
Women
800m:- (none); 1500m:-(Gold); 5000m (Gold); 10000m (Silver)
Total Count : 4 Gold 5 Silver & 2 Bronze

Swimming:
This is ahead of traditional boxing because for the first time we have real medal prospects in the name of the Dunford ( David & Jason) brothers. Hoping the Australians, Britons and Canadians have a bad day in the temperate conditions of the Asian sub-continent, 1 silver; 1 bronze  (make that 1 gold & 1 silver and a bronze) look like possibilities.

Boxing:
With the team heavily depleted and lacking in technical expertise, we don't foresee any medal hopes here. There might a chance of a Quarter-finalist at best.

Rugby:

Kenya 7s rugby team - courtesy of orange.co.ke 

We have a great 7-a-side team playing great rugby and impressing on the IRB Sevens circuit. But when you have such powerhouses as New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Samoa and others such as Wales and England, any medal hopes quickly vanish.The instability drawn from the team's selection and fairly average performance in the IRB 7s 2009-10 season also slow down any progress we would have made. Don't underrate our boys though, at least they will pull one or two upsets. Check out this blog for more analysis on the Kenyan rugby team www.rugbykenya.blogspot.com.

While we are represented in at least 6 other disciplines, none of these shall attract any medals and thus in all fairness ends our hopes. Sceptics we maybe but that's what the reality of the team's preparations put us. In total we foresee a total medal haul of 4 Gold, 6 Silver and 3 Bronze. Any bets on this? Sunday 3rd October the Games begin....for updates check the official site here http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org/.

Kenyan Swimmers finish 4th in Africa Swimming Championships

Kudos to the Kenyan swimming team for finishing in a commendable 4th position in the continental championships.This will serve as a good morale booster as the team prepares for the Commonwealth Games which start in India in October.

Jason Dunford - courtesy of Stanford University

The good thing is that we have made a good case for hosting the championships coming to Nairobi in 2012. The Dunford brothers have also made ours a great sporting nation by showing that we have added talent not the traditional medal hopefuls.

But the same good fortune almost ends there. While the Dunford brothers have dominated the medals coming home (3 gold & 2 silver while one other swimmer won the only bronze), it is time the Kenya Swimming Federation ensured that their legacy doesn't end there. They need to cultivate a lasting impression not just on future swimming juniors but have this translated to national meets. It is a fact that the sport is not for the faint-hearted both in physical and financial requirements, but very little has been done by the relevant authorities to ensure they invest in the sport locally. 

We also remember the tussle that saw one Ajulu Bushnell move base to Britain (how I wish the dual citizenship could be in force to ensure we keep a hold of this future star...). It is sad that Kenyan authorities did not do enough to argue their case and this is not like athletics where we can afford to 'export' our athletes.

Future Kenyan Swimmers 

Kenya Swimming Federation needs become proactive in securing not just corporate sponsorships and individual sponsorships for the swimmers (since it is an individual sport anyway...), they need develop swimming academies for youth development and clinics and translate the benefits of the sport to our young populace. 

Besides being a healthy lifestyle, we all know the researchers concerns of our younger population becoming obese and taking on life's dangerous cycles in alcohol and other drugs which is slowly cutting off a certain generation - as the 2009 Kenya Census findings indicate.

Let's hope the Dunford brothers shall help and guide Kenyan swimming talent to blossom and better their showings in both continental and international meets. It shall be for the good of the country for us to realise what we have (but let it not be only when it's gone...)

Swimming body bans suit as Kenya's own burst his twice...

FINA, the international swimming federation has banned the swimming gear from all competitions from next year. This is due to the number of world records that keep breaking even before the previous ones have been recorded.

I would beg to differ with that thought since in as much as the costume aid the swimmers in setting new times, the sport is highly technical and prone to close times. The swimmers train hard and the times we see are as a result of this. When some official steps up to say that some piece of synthetic cloth is making a difference, they are in short looking for excuses.
Our very own Jason Dunford burst his suit twice yesterday and had to contend with a borrowed from our 'friendly' neighbours Uganda to compete in the 50m fly. Goes to show why you can't sever ties with your friends...
So now what will the pool swimmers look like ?

Top Sports Personalities in Kenya -2008

As we look forward to the coming year which will serve as breeding grounds and hard work for all sporting disciplines (since there are not as many major sports events), I have looked at those who made a major impact in the sports scene in 2008;
They are as follows;

1. Pamela Jelimo- Athletics 800m- from obscurity to golden moments- she literally scorched the tracks last year. Starting with the Kenyan championships(cum trials), she went on to register a gold medal in the African Athletics Meet in Ethiopia, won gold in Beijing Olympics and crowned the season by taking the Golden Jackpot by winning 6-out-6 races in the Golden League Athletics Grand Prix. She was accorded State honours having audience the powers-that-be. She’s easily the most talked about sports personality for the year 2008.

2.Francis Kimanzi- Coach/Team Manager (Mathare United & Kenyan football national team)– juggling two demanding jobs is not mean achievement. But he did just that and managed to win the Kenyan Premier last year and also managed to guide Kenya into the 2nd round of 2010 World Cup / Cup of Nations qualifiers. Under him, Kenya is currently ranked 65th in the FIFA world rankings –the highest ever and best for the East & Central African teams. All this at the tender age of 30 years.

3.Jason Dunford- Swimming- he started the year by being crowned SOYA for 2007 after a sterling performance in the All-Africa Games. He put Kenya in the Olympic record books temporarily holding the record for the 100m butterfly stroke for a few minutes. He managed a 5th place finish in the Finals won by swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps. He crowned the year by winning 3 gold medals & 2 silvers in African championships held in South Africa in November.

4.Collins Injera-Rugby- The national 7s team has become any sports enthusiasts’ talking point for the last 2 years. They won the Team of the Year award –SOYA 2007. One emerging player from the season was Collins Injera who had the big teams the likes of England, Fiji shaking in their boots last season. He has been a decisive factor in Kenya’s 7s game and is likely to be a player to watch this season.

5.Samuel Wanjiru- Athletics Marathon- he was the 3rd best marathoner going into the Olympics and his place was confirmed after finishing 2nd to Martin Lel in the London Marathon, as well as a nagging injury to Robert ‘Mwafrika’ Cheruiyot who had been tipped as the favourite. But come the last event of the Beijing Olympics Games, we woke up to watch a lean man tear the rest of the pack apart and win Kenya her first Olympic marathon gold.

6.Francis Ouma- Football-seeing as it is, the Kenyan Premier League last season got off into a good start. With DSTv/SuperSport screening select Kenyan games, our footballer had something to show to the rest of the world. Ochieng found the net 15 times most for his team leading them to a 1st place finish. He has found a place in the national team and is currently leading Kenya’s onslaught in the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup in Uganda.

7.Humphrey Khayange- rugby 7s- he captained the team to the IRB Sevens Series and one of the most influential players in the team. He managed to guide the team to a season high 6th place in the Series before they lost steam and slipped to finish within the top 10 positions. They won the Tusker Safari Sevens in July, giving local fans something to smile at. He is still captain and was instrumental in the team’s season 2nd round of the Series outstanding performance at the Dubai Sevens in December. We’ll how he guides the team for the rest of the season.

8.Ben Ayimba –coach rugby 7s team- he was one of the best players of his days and led Kenya’s 7s team to many an upset. He took up the managerial role of team in 2007 and has since seen the team grow to be one of the best emerging teams in the IRB 7s Series. He takes responsibility for any poor performances a thing that has endeared him to both fans and players. He is also one of the youngest coaches in the Series at 31 years. He is bound to continue this streak in the year.

9.Wilfred Bungei- Athletics 800m- he has been a major feature in Kenya’s international performances and is easily one of the most recognizable athletes on the track. He was a perennial underachiever failing to make the final sprint count and missing on medals. He led Kenya’s contingent as the captain of the Kenya team to the Olympics. Last year he proved us wrong and won his race earning Kenya one of the 5 gold medals in the Beijing Olympics. His trademark eye-glasses he says are not a fashion statement but simply to save his eyes from the gashing winds in the races.

10.Julius Kirwa- he took the unenviable job of head coach athletics at a time when Kenya’s international performances were taking a beating from bitter rivals such as Ethiopia, Eritrea and the North Africans. He almost lost it when Kenya didn’t win any individual race at the World Cross Country championships in ……earlier in 2008. But he managed to recover and come back with a bang helping Kenya secure 5 gold medals at the Olympics courtesy of the athletics team.

11.Nancy Lagat- 1500m –she was the surprise gold medalist for Kenya at the Olympics. She had kept her trend of winning, nondescriptly and she repeated that feat at the 1500m race earning Kenya’s women their 2nd ever gold medal at Olympics Games. Her demeanour hides her ambition to excel and she surely had us fooled!

SPECIAL MENTIONS:
Richard Omwela -Kenya Rugby Football Union- sustained support and professionalism into rugby
Mutwiri Mutuota- CNN/MultiChoice African Journalism of the Year Award nominee and winner in Sports Award section
Hellen Sambili-Minister for Youth and Sports- ensuring sustained Government support to Kenyan sports
www.mafans.com - interactive site with interesting sports news and arguments
EABL, KCB, KCC, Safaricom, Standard Chartered Kenya,Coca-Cola -the top companies supporting sports in Kenya for the season (Virgin Atlantic also deserves a mention albeit a hurried one).

Please add any which I may have forgotten !

Beyond 2008

I'd finally come to my element this weekend as our Kenyan athletes blazed the trail in Beijing finishing 15th position overall. The local papers have been all over each other trying to say this is our best performance ever. SEE: here and here & and finally this one .
That notwithstanding, I'll take a reality check on some of my thoughts;
1. Kenyan women won 2 of their first gold medals in the Olympics. That's a outstanding performance by all means. What was even more amazing was the modesty of the ladies winning the medals, with Jelimo -800m coming to her form only in the last 3 months while Jebet -1500m has been running in the shadows and not made such as major mark until now.
2. Kenya also won her first marathon title in the form of Samuel Wanjiru in the men's race. This gentleman was running in his 3rd major marathon. Superb performance !
3. Away from athletics, the 2 other disciplines which we almost came close were in the swimming by the Dunford brothers with Jason making it to the finals of the 100m butterfly race. Commendable performance too. Tae-kwon-do had 2 representatives 1 each for the men and women. Our lady fighter Milka Akinyi lost in the bronze medal contest to the Venezuelan Dalia Contreras. The gentleman didn't fare well though. Another new entrant was the sole representative in the rowing competition Mathew Lidaywa.
4.Some of the silver medals were gold medals in the making if we pushed a little harder....let me be plain with Ms. Ndereba in the women's marathon, E.Kipchoge in the 5000m to say but the least.
5. Coming to the worse parts, our 4 boxers did not get past the first rounds given that they were carrying the hopes of the nation. That's a dismal performance to say the least.
6. Kenyan officials were at it again. Starting with the qualifiers, the management made some mistakes which almost cost the country medals ...this is the case of one Ezekiel Kemboi who I said here should not have gone to Beijing. Some other errors included the sudden suspension of Muthoka who is said to have tested positive for drugs(unconfirmed reports), ticket bookings for athletes and officials, largesse that is usually the team management. And why oh why do we need such a huge number of officials ? Check this.

Overall the team showed we can achieve if we push ourselves and motivate our athletes well. I don't know but maybe the KShs. 1.75m from the Head of State may have had a hand in this. We must also thank corporate firms for promising more of these rewards to the participants.
Beyong 2008;
a) Kenya badly needs a sports policy. I've said this once I'll say it again. We need a platform from which to launch ourselves to the next level. This is a good launching pad and we can't afford to lose this.
b) We need to retain our best talent in the country. Our consolation is that none of the defecting athletes won any medals on these Games but that's just a matter of time. We can't afford to let go of our countrymen-if we're to find better ways of rewarding and maintaining them then that be it.
c) Kenya needs to invest more in sports- with most of our national grounds regaining their shape, we need to add more of these especially at provincial levels where almost all sports grounds were grabbed or mismanaged. This need not be done by the Government alone but in partnership with private firms or every concessioning.
d) Focus should move quickly to the 2010 World Cup and Africa Athletics championships along with the All-Africa Games 2011 and Olympics in 2012. Well laid out plans of action and parameters should be set to achieve goals at each of the said events. We can't afford to lay on our wreaths of glory only for us to falter.

Is it me or is there like a 20-year cycle going here ? Every 20 years, Kenya sets history in the Olympics.
1968: First gold medal -Naftali Temu KE- 3000m steeplechase- 3 gold overall for Kenya.
1988: First gold medal- African boxing- Robert Wangila Napunyi KE- welterweight- 5 gold overall for Kenya.
2008: First gold medal- Kenyan women- Pamela Jelimo KE-800m- 5 gold overall !

Preview of SOYA Awards for Year 2007

Drums roll......and the winner is......
No let's start first with my trouble trying to secure an invitation. It was rough road coming but let's just say I found my way there. I almost got into a hitch when an earlier engagement took my time but to get to the Awards, I had to !
The theme for this year had appropriately been picked as Embracing Peace given the upheaval the country faced in the aftermath of the disputed elections.
Coming in late, meant I missed most of the niceties and introductions ( need I say the 3-course meal set out for invited guests....these guys sold the drinks...no freebies here). But I was in time to find Uncle Moody finishing up his speech which really touched the emotional side of most people. Michael Joseph -Safaricom CEO who followed him almost had his handkerchief rolled out, as I could have sworn he broke a tear.
But the night belonged to the champions ( as the famous song by Queen goes)!
Jason Dunford was the Men's Sports Personality of the Year while Janeth JepKosgei took the ladies award. No suprises as both athletes exceed their own expectations last year and are already gearing up for this year's championships. Jason couldn't make it and had his father and mum pick the award for him while Janeth looked stunning in an evening dress and her ever-charming smile. Each collected a cheque of Kshs. 125,000
Other Winners:
Team of the Year (male) : Kenya Rugby Sevens squad (cheque of Kshs. 125,000)
Team of the Year (female): Junior Team ( Cross-Country) "
Most Promising Athlete (male): Asbel Kiprop- Athletics( cheque of Kshs. 50,000)
Most Promising Athlete (female): Ruth Bosibori- Athletics "
Sports Federation of the Year: Kenya Motor Sports Foundation ( cheque of Kshs. 100,000)
Community Hero/Heroine: Tecla Loroupe (cheque of Kshs.75000)
Special Category (male): Ibrahim Tabei- Athletics (cheque of Kshs.50000)
Special Category (female): Betty Cheruiyot-Athletics( similar cheque)
Hall of Fame : Paul Wekesa ( did I have foresight on this or what? Check SportsKenya's other feature on the right-hand side)
Interesting Tid-bits:
Among the invited guests was former Nigerian footballer- Daniel Amokachi and SuperSport's personnel ( who also covered the event).There were also a host of local leading sports personalities but I guess with the postponement of the event twice, the international guests were a bare minimum.
David Okeyo- Athletics Kenya Secterary General did his good runs up and down the podium as he collected trophies on behalf of his athletes who were said to be training for upcoming events. I counted and the guy never sat for more than 5 minutes after the presentations begun.
Patricia Mbatia of Multi-Choice Africa ( Supersport) was also in the house but more at the background never venturing near the distinguished guests table. She looked great ( wonder whether it's the Complete Make-over Competition won on 98.4 Capital FM's station which I thought was skewed)
Bernard Otieno who had hosted the event well goofed by asking Michael J to name the 2nd runner up instead of the winner for the male category & capped it by saying the event was for the year 2006. Guess it was the wine acting up after his spending time at the hidden corner.
Jason Dunford's dad summed it up well while picking his son's award by saying;

let's (Kenyans) recognise and appreciate our diversity because it is our strength and let's not call the colour of our skin or region

Words of a true champ !