Miramas, France — When looking at Kenya Rugby 7s in recent years, the likes of Collins Injera, Andrew Amonde, Lavin Asego, Humphrey Kayange aka "Tall" and Willy Ambaka are, for obvious reasons, the first names that would spring to mind.
However, it is Lameck Bogonko, the head physio for Shujaa across two Olympic Games, now going for a third consecutive, that has been the constant.
Behind the scenes, Bogonko will be among the myriad hidden heroes who will support the fitness and wellbeing of Shujaa at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
From back-to-back Olympics, Bogonko possesses the bragging rights of having brushed shoulders with big names, but his contribution to Kenya Rugby 7s remains invaluable, by and large.
Speaking in Maramas where Team Kenya has pitched camp, well in time for Paris 2024, Bogonko recounted his rare Olympics experience: "Rio 2016 was my first ever Olympics so that was really exciting, being the first time that the sevens featured at the Summer Games. Then came theTokyo 2020 Games belatedly held in 2021 due to COVID-19, so here I am again for my third Olympiad. Winning the Singapore Sevens in 2016 and when Dennis Ombachi took us to the first Olympics was a surreal experience."
Comparing the Paris-bound outfit to previous teams, Bogonko expounded: "Past players share many things in common with the current team. Patrick Odongo fills the void left by Collins Injera playing a similar role, and I think with more growth to it, you can see some of the big forwards coming in to replace the likes of Willy Ambaka and Andrew Amonde, with more coaching and understanding of the game. We have proper athletes and I think that's the key aspect for Kenya ahead of the Games."
-Proper Injury Prevention--
What role does Bogonko play in the team prior, during and after championships?
On the pitch-side, he is levelheaded and never shirks from monitoring any injuries that might occur and address them immediately.
"We also have a lot of soft tissue injuries that need to be taken care of critically," He quips:
"Basically, my role starts at home where we make sure the athletes have proper injury prevention which entails cardiovascular screening, and so much more, before the season starts then we make sure they are injury free all through and then when we they travel, we take care of jetlags in terms of recovery. I am always there to monitor injuries."
Bogonko reveals his input is very crucial for the team, because it entails sports medicine in terms of medical controls management.
-Waterbreaks--
Miramas is traditionally quite hot over summer and just the other day temperatures soared to the highs of 35 degrees centigrade.
"We are in hot weather. We need to make sure rehydration is better, but it's not just about the water uptake, there are isotonic drinks which ensures that their salt balances are good, so after a few minutes we need to ensure they are taking water as well as sipping in isotonic drinks."
-State-of-the-art Technology--
As a pitch-side expert, Bogonko has seen sport technology morphed through different guises and he's overly excited about its effects.
The sevens team is exploring the use of athlete performance-tracking device, a Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that will provide the much-needed data the technical bench requires in terms of analysing the team performance.
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"The new technology is quite crucial in terms of monitoring the distance covered per game, and to me this is the way to go."
Bogonko studied at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa where he met former 7s coach Paul Treu and Graham Bentz.
"We knew each other before and when they got the role in Kenya Sevens, they told me to offer my expertise and that's how I joined the team and since then, I have been a part of this team."
Bogonko runs a sports injury clinic in the Pangani area where he specializes in sports injuries.
"We also take our patients through a surgical procedure and also through a rehabilitation program until they return to training and play again," he said in finality.
- Alex Isaboke is reporting from Miramas, France -
