Why we shouldn’t hesitate exporting athletics talent
What you need to know:
- Perhaps Athletics Kenya ought to introduce the position of “director of athlete change of allegiance” and allow our talented but downtrodden runners to take up American, Azerbaijani, Qatari and Bahraini passports.
- After all, they are more respected in their adopted nations than at their country of birth. And then again, we have a surplus of talent and won’t be risking a chink in our enviable athletics armour.
Kenya-born runners sent some waves in global distance running last weekend, with the highlight being Aliphine Tuliamuk’s victory in the US Olympic marathon trials in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday.
Tuliamuk’s winning time was two hours, 27 minutes and 23 seconds.
Kapsowar-born Sally Kipyego was third in Atlanta (2:28:52), and will join the West Pokot-born Tuliamuk along with Molly Seidel (2:27:31) in the US team for the Tokyo Olympics from Saturday’s trials.
In Tokyo itself, another Kenya-born Israeli runner, Lornah Chemtai-Salpeter, won the Tokyo Marathon in an impressive time of two hours, 17 minutes and 45 seconds on Sunday, a personal best and Israeli national record.
Back in Atlanta, it wasn’t just Tuliamuk and Kipyego on the circuit course as the men’s race was dominated by Kenya-born runners, led by multiple world and Olympic medallist, Bernard Lagat.
A substantial number of athletes in the pack were drawn from the strong US Army team, dominated by Kenya-born runners such as Elkanah Kibet, Augustus Maiyo, Leonard Korir, Samuel Kosgei and Haron Lagat.
Sadly, none of them made the cut with Galen Rupp (2:09:20), Jacob Riley (2:10:02) and Somali-born Abdi Abdirahman (2:10:03) grabbing the men’s tickets to Sapporo, where the Olympic marathon races will be run.
But running under the US Army World Class Athlete Programme, these ex-Kenyan athletes have revolutionized elite distance running in USA and have performed the double role of striking athletics excellence and serving their adopted nation in the military.
Previously, I’ve been a strong critic of Kenyan runners being spirited away to embrace foreign nationalities and rub it in singing national anthems of their new nations at medal podiums, much to the chagrin of their home nations.
But, in hindsight, we should allow them to go in droves.
Especially if they have an opportunity to become better human beings and be of greater value to their families in their new abode.
After all, they make global running more competitive besides investing their earnings in their home country.
And yet they still, discreetly, fly the Kenyan flag.
Women’s distance running top lists are littered with Kenya-born runners, such as the Americans Tuliamuk and Kipyego, Israeli Salpeter, Yasemin Can (of Turkey, formerly Vivian Jemutai) and Mexico’s Risper Gesabwa.
Besides the ex-Kenyan American military marathoners, the global men’s distance running rankings also feature other Kenyan-Americans Shadrack Kipchirchir, Paul Chelimo (both also soldiers) and steeplechasers Hilary Bor (also a soldier) and Stanley Kebenei.
And all these stars have been through some of USA’s best universities, juggling academics with elite athletics careers, and the military, something of a rarity back home in Kenya.
Texas Tech University is Haron Lagat’s and Sally Kipyego’s alma mater, while Kibet (Auburn University), Maiyo (University of Alabama), Kosgei (Lamar University), Korir (Iona College) and Tuliamuk (Wichita State University) are examples of a fine balance between the sport and academics.
Sadly, very few of our Kenyan universities offer athletics scholarships to talented students who end up dumping prospective running careers to join the rat race in the concrete jungle.
The more reason why they should adopt nations that will show better respect for them, and allow them to mature their talents.
Our military too has important lessons to learn from the US Army World Class Athlete Programme (WCAP) that uses the athletes’ endurance talent to improve military service.
As it proclaims, the WCAP “allows top-ranked soldier athletes to perform at international level while also serving their nation in the military.
“WCAP soldiers hold clinics, speak to high school and college audiences, talk with athletic teams and make appearances in support of army recruitment stations.
“They become a training asset to the larger army, too, through Total Soldier Enhancement Training which sends mobile training teams of WCAP soldier athletes to lead units through customized resilience and performance enhancement skills training.”
According to the WCAP statistics, so far, 446 soldiers have represented USA at the Olympics, panning 111 medals across the sporting codes for America.
Perhaps Athletics Kenya ought to introduce the position of “director of athlete change of allegiance” and allow our talented but downtrodden runners to take up American, Azerbaijani, Qatari and Bahraini passports.
After all, they are more respected in their adopted nations than at their country of birth. And then again, we have a surplus of talent and won’t be risking a chink in our enviable athletics armour.
Makori is the Editor (Sports) at Nation Media Group. [email protected]
