Coach Sigei tips Kenya to dominate opponents in Uganda

Veteran athletics coach Mike Sigei has tipped Kenya’s cross country and relays team to dominate individual and team events when they compete in Kampala on March 26.

Sigei, who served as Team Kenya coach between 1985 and 1995, heaped praises on the team, saying it is one of the best to represent the country.

Kirwa has also served as Finland’s athletics head coach between 1995 and 2000 before returning to coach Kenya from 2001 to 2005. Speaking on Monday after the team’s training at Kigari Teachers Training College in Embu County, Sigei said the coaches were inculcating teamwork on the squad as the main ingredient to winning.

The assistant team manager has nostalgic memories, having handled five times World Cross Country winners John Ngugi and Paul Tergat.

Ngugi won the world title from 1986 to 1989 and again in 1992, while Tergat won from 1995 to 1999.

Sigei put forward a strong case for team spirit, citing the 2001 World Championship in Edmonton where, faced with the absence of then red-hot Paul Tergat, the squad picked Charles Kamathi who went on to defeat the dominant Haile Gebrselassie.

“For a very long time we had not won the 10,000 metres title. I had known how Gebrselassie works because I had left him in cross country. Kamathi was up to the challenge, supported by his teammates. It is good if athletes have collective responsibility. It is what we are doing now, ensuring they work as a team, ensuring everyone works for the good of the team,” said Sigei.

The former civil servant attached to the Ministry of Culture and Social Services studied at St Patrick’s Iten before winning a scholarship to study at Washington State University.

He got a second scholarship to pursue athletics coaching at Maines University in Germany.

He cites the 1988 Olympics event as the best experience of his career where he oversaw a total transformation of the Kenyan squad. “It was a very excellent outing because in 1984, our team had (won) only one gold medal, but this time we had four from the runners, and one from Robert Napunyi Wangila in boxing,” he says.

Sigei tips the current crop of junior runners to dominate future races. He urged Kenyans to rally behind the team in Uganda.