Keino lands IOC board appointments

Athletics legend Kipchoge Keino has been appointed to the boards of Olympics Broadcasting Services SA (OBS) and the Olympics Meseums Foundation.

Keino, the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) chairman, was appointed on Tuesday, in an announcement made by International Olympic Committee Board President Thomas Bach.

Others appointed alongside Keino to the Olympic Museum Foundation Board are International Olympic Committee Vice-President Zaiqing Yu and Executive Board member Ugur Erdener.

Speaking to Sunday Nation Sport yesterday, Keino, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, expressed his delight saying the appointments were a great honour to him.

“I’m so humbled. We need our own museum in Kenya to make it possible to educate our people on the sports culture, heritage and our diversity,” Keino said.

“Olympics Museum unifies all the people of the world. What we now need to do locally is to develop sports infrastructure in every part of the country to harness talent.”

Keino, who in 2012 became one of the 24 athletes to be inducted as inaugural members of the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) Hall of Fame, said special attention should be given to swimming and tennis, disciplines he lamented that have been ignored.

There is a lot of talent in the two disciplines which can bring a lot of pride to the country, he said.

NOCK Secretary General FK Paul hailed Keino’s appointment terming it timely.

Paul challenged the government and local federations to take the cue and honour athletes who have brought glory to the country.

“In Kenya, you are forgotten as soon as you retire. It’s a good thing that IOC has recognized Keino,” Paul said.

The Olympic Museum which is located in Lausanne, Switzerland houses permanent and temporary sports exhibits.

With more than 10,000 pieces, the museum is the largest archive of Olympic Games in the world.