Kenyan athletes focused on prize, says coach Julius Kirwa
What you need to know:
- Kenyans set for track battle
- Kenya head coach says his charges won’t be distracted by the sideshows in Brazil
IN RIO DE JANEIRO
We will not let ourselves get distracted by the sideshows. That is the simple message from athletics head coach Julius Kirwa as his charges ready themselves to enter the fray at the Olympic Games.
The coach, however, declined to be drawn into the circumstances that led to the expulsion of team manager Major (rtd) Michael Rotich, only saying that whatever has happened outside the track will have no bearing at all in the team’s performance.
“That issue (regarding Rotich) is an individual thing and it won’t affect the performance of the athletes. These allegations that we have heard are neither our preoccupation as a team or as individual athletes,” Kirwa said during an interview with Kenyan journalists at the Olympic Village.
“Our focus is the Olympics and we are ready to compete in each and every event,” he said.
The coach also pointed out that Team Kenya is keen on excelling following a stellar performance at the World Athletics Championships last year in Beijing, China, where Kenya finished on top of the medal standings with 16 medals (7 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze).
“We know what is expected of us, but these are two different championships. This is the Olympics while the other one was the World Championships.
As you know, the Olympics is the tough one and we want to be somewhere when we compete.”
What remains unknown, Kirwa said, is the number of medals that Kenya will win here in Rio.
“When you come to such a competition, you have to bear in mind that all the athletes are here with the aim of taking one of the 306 gold medals on offer. At this point I can’t say how many medals the team will win, all we ask for are prayers from Kenyans back home,” he said.
Meanwhile, all the athletes who arrived in Rio de Janeiro late on Sunday night have settled down at the Olympic Village with the exception of three coaches who have been booked into a hotel since Kenya has already exceeded its quota of officials allowed at the Village.
According to Rotich, the coaches who have not linked up with the team at the village are John Anzra (sprints), Joseph Mosonik (javelin) and Mark Baraton (race walk).
A number of athletes, including three-time 1,500m world champion Asbel Kiprop, are also yet to join the team. But Kirwa gave an assurance that all the athletes will arrive here on time for the competition with Kiprop expected in Rio on Thursday.
“He (Asbel) is a very experienced athlete and I personally granted his request to stay behind and join the team three days before he competes,” Rotich said.
