Omulo Okoth
25 August 2007
Nairobi — The sporting world will stop on its tracks today to usher in the 11th World Championships in Athletics in the Japanese city of Osaka.
Even the US Open, due to start on Monday in New York, and the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Turkey tomorrow will pale in global mass following when Nagai Stadium explodes in high-octane performances by sprinters from the Carribean and the United States, middle-distance and distance runners from Kenya, Ethiopia and China, jumpers and throwers from eastern Europe and marathon sensations from the host nation.
Kenya has particularly fond memories of the event with names like Paul Kipkoech, Douglas Wakiihuri, Moses Tanui, Moses Kiptanui, Yobes Ondieki, Paul Tergat, Daniel Komen, Wilson Boit Kipketer, Bernard Barmasai, Charles Kamathi, Benjamin Limo, Susan Sirma, Catherine Ndereba, Sally Barsosio are permanently inscribed in their minds.
Their dominance of the middle-distance/distance races took a dramatic nose-dive in the past decade and they no longer occupy the special place. After Athens (1997) where Kipketer led Kiptanui and Barmasai in sweeping steeplechase medals, Komen winning the 5,000m and Barsosio running away with the 10,000m, subsequent editions have recorded single gold medals; so-called flashes in the pan.
Ethiopian threat
Instead it is Ethiopia, which has emerged as the strongest African nation on the global stage.
Their women have enjoyed a phenomenal dominance over the 5,000m and 10,000m like no other nation in the history of the championships. Look at Tirunesh Dibaba winning both 5,000m and 10,000m in Helsinki two years ago. At the Helsinki worlds, Dibaba led Ethiopia to top three positions (Dibaba, Adere, Ejegayehu Dibaba). In Edmonton, they took all the 10,000m medals (Tulu, Adere, Wami).
Haile Gebreselassie's four successive titles in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 spurred massive interest among Ethiopia's juniors. Kenenisa Bekele confirmed this with quintessential execution of the 10,000m victory in 2003 and 2005.
Kenyans have been relegated to one-offs like Christopher Kosgei's steeplechase title in 1999, Kamathi's 10,000m title in 2001 and Limo's 5,000m in Hensinki. In Osaka, the absence of Qatar's Seif Saaeed Shaheen (formerly Stephen Cherono) can assure us of a gold in the steeplechase. That is how low we have come.
Looking at the current crop of runners, one does not see the discipline and tenacity of Tanui, Tergat, Kiptanui or the 'warrior' in Sirma and Barsosio. What we see is 'we-too' who are selected for taking the three top positions at the Kenyan trials and are driven more by the ambition of winning Sh2.4 million reserved for the gold medallists.
Officials have chosen to dangle coaching positions for loyalists who kowtow them, instead of advising them. Dr Woldemeskel Kostre has retained his position as Ethiopia's head coach since the days Kenya's Mike Kosgei started the journey to the top of the coaching world.
Now he has specific coaches responsible for 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m, steeplechase and marathon. Kenyan athletes are led by cross country coaches.
Whether Osaka will realise any significant changes remains to be seen.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
