Tergat urges Sports ministry to cast net wider for Olympics success
National Olympic Committee of Kenya President Paul Tergat (in yellow shirt) awards the pair of Jane Wacu (centre) and Shota Katagiri (left) after they won the beach tournament event at Pride Inn Paradise Beach Hotel on May 15, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Tergat is rooting for diversity in sports as a solution and now wants parliament to allocate more funds to the Ministry of sports to help them develop other sports right from academy level
- The Noc-k boss said the secret to success in any sports is in the youth and wants the ministry to pump money into federations to enable them develop sports right from grassroots level
- Tergat said Malkia Strikers' four-day trip to the Coast helped lift the team's morale after the failed trip to Brazil for further specialised training due to increased cases of Covid -19 in the South American country
National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Noc-k) President Paul Tergat says Kenya must stop over relying on athletics for medals in international sports competitions.
Tergat, a former world marathon record holder, is rooting for diversity in sports as a solution and now wants parliament to allocate more funds to the Ministry of sports to help them develop other sports right from academy level to take advantage of Kenya’s enormous raw talent in other disciplines that has not been tapped.
The Noc-k boss, who was speaking at Prideinn Paradise Beach Hotel at the close of Olympics-bound Malkia Strikers four-day holiday training camp, said the secret to success in any sports is in the youth and wants the ministry to pump money into federations to enable them develop sports right from grassroots level.
“We must make full use of the massive talent in Kenya which has not been nurtured due to lack of funds to set up academies where they can be developed. There is need for parliament to increase its allocation to Sports Fund to help the ministry develop other sports disciplines to give the country a realistic chance of competing for more medals internationally,” Tergat, who is regarded as one of the most accomplished long distance runners of all time, said.
Tergat said Malkia Strikers' four-day trip to the Coast helped lift the team's morale after the failed trip to Brazil for further specialised training due to increased cases of Covid -19 in the South American country.
“As Noc-k, we realised that the players morale was very low after the trip to Brazil was canceled. Since they had worked so hard in training and even secured visas for the trip, we talked with the ministry to give them this trip which I can confirm has worked magic as their fitness level and morale is now where it ought to be,” said Tergat who was accompanied by his Secretary General Francis Mutuku.
According to Tergat, the players have been so committed to training and is very hopeful that they will improve on their past performances at the Olympics.
