Gold Coast was stepping stone to 2020 Olympics

Finally, the curtain came down on the Commonwealth Games on Sunday here in Gold Coast, Australia. As usual, a strong Kenyan delegation was here to represent the country and as expected we didn’t return home empty handed.

Kenya won a total of 17 medals —four gold, seven silver and six bronze. Of course finishing 14th on the medal table is not what Kenyans had expected considering our performance in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

But truth be told—different factors do determine performance.

For example, the Games were for the first time being held in the month of April and this was bound to have an impact on performance.

This meant scarcity of our top marathoners because most of them opted for the big city marathons including Boston marathon held on Monday this week.

Besides, some of our elite runners just decided to focus on the Diamond League and we can’t really blame them.

There was also a squad that elected to compete in the World Half marathon, which is also a key event on our national calendar.

It is for this reason that Athletics Kenya (AK) in conjunction with the National Olympic Committee (Nock) opted for a younger team - and of course - for good reasons. At the moment, everything is tailored towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympics hence the reasons for grooming a young team that will represent the country in the event.

FRESH LEGS

Having had the honour to serve as Chef de Mission, It was interesting to see some fresh legs posting good results. While winning medals was key for us, the assurance by the same athletes that we don’t need to worry about Tokyo went a long way in re-affirming our commitment towards building structures within sports circles.

Young athletes like Edward Zakayo, who won bronze in 5,000m and Eva Cherono, who finished seventh in the women’s 5,000m was a pointer that our production line was still in motion. They may not have won the gold or rather the kind of medal we wanted but with their steady progress, I have no doubt that they will give us the reason to smile in Tokyo.

We are aware that all the athletes we had especially in the 10,000m were headed for road races and the only way to survive the future is by coming up with proper structures and remunerations. This means sacrifice for now hence the kind of results we posted in Gold Coast. As they say—no pain, no gain, hence we needed to start from somewhere.

I, however, want to thank the likes of team captain Elijah Manangoi and his assistant Hellen Obiri who led from the front. While other athletes had reservations about the Commonwealth Games and opted to stay away, the two put the country first.

My special thanks to the Minister of Sports Rashid Echesa, the Sports PS Peter Kaberia and Kenyan Ambassador to Australia Isaiah Kabira, who kept the team company throughout the championships for the sole purpose of encouraging them.

Korir is the Athletics Kenya’s Nairobi branch chairman [email protected]