Dismal African Games show is a wake-up call to NOC-K
Samuel Gathimba wins men's 10km race walk during third Athletics Kenya Track and Field Meeting at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi on January 27, 2024.
What you need to know:
- I’m a huge believer in reaping where you sowed and our current medal count clearly mirrors our poor preparations
- The fact that this dismal performance in Accra comes just a few months before Team Kenya converges on Paris for this year’s Summer Olympic Games is alarming
- The performance in Accra, dismal as it is, could turn out to be a blessing in disguise if NOC-K endeavor to right the wrongs that the Sports Council has done
Team Kenya’s performance at the ongoing African Games pales badly in comparison with the previous edition held in Rabat, Morocco in 2019.
Various team sports like women’s beach volleyball, who bagged silver in Rabat, have already missed out on the podium and even more worrying is that this trend has crept into athletics, Kenya’s default top medal earner in any global competition.
Kenya collected 31 medals from the 2019 Africa Games in Rabat; 11 gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze. Athletics contributed 10 gold, seven silver and three bronze medals. The only non-athletics gold medal came from volleyball via Malkia Strikers.
The women’s beach volleyball pair of Gaudencia Makokha and Naomi Too settled for silver in Rabat but this year’s edition was not kind to them as Makokha and her new partner Yvonne Wavinya were eliminated at the quarter-finals stage by eventual champions Egypt.
While Malkia Strikers remain big favourites to win their third African Games title in a row in Accra, it’s painful that Kenya has relinquished the men’s steeplechase title and women’s 5,000m crown to Ethiopians Samuel Firewu and Medina Eisa respectively.
Similarly, Samuel Gathimba Wednesday lost his race walk title, settling for silver to continue Kenya’s lackluster performance in the Ghanaian capital. But has this string of poor results come as a surprise to me? Not really!
Sports Council failures
Team Kenya’s preparations for the African Games were shambolic and the disorganization surrounding the team’s travel and accommodation in Accra only served to reduce our medal chances. I’m a huge believer in reaping where you sowed and our current medal count clearly mirrors our poor preparations.
Kenya National Sports Council, the body responsible for preparing Team Kenya for the African Games, has failed badly in the execution of their mandate for this year’s edition. From kitting, travel, accommodation and training camps, there was nothing good to write home about and so are the results!
The fact that this dismal performance in Accra comes just a few months before Team Kenya converges on Paris for this year’s Summer Olympic Games is alarming. It’s encouraging that National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) President Paul Tergat and Secretary General Francis Mutuku spared time to visit Team Kenya in Accra.
Tergat and Mutuku must have witnessed first-hand the struggles of Team Kenya in Accra from poor accommodation, lack of training venues all which are ingredients for good performance.
Steeplechase camp
Kenyans will certainly be expecting athletics to lead the way at the Paris Olympics and it’s important that Athletics Kenya and NOC-K hatch a plan to reclaim the men’s steeplechase gold that Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali won in Tokyo 2020 edition. Ethiopians Lamecha Girma and Firewu will also be looking to dethrone El Bakkali in Paris which means Kenya’s Amos Serem, Simon Koech and Abraham Kibiwott already have their work cut out.
Preparations for the Paris Olympics should engage a higher gear immediately these athletes return from Accra. The steeplechasers should have entered a training camp as early as yesterday and start preparing together for at least two months before the Summer Games. Teamwork and a meticulous tactical approach, which can only be cultivated in a training camp, will be key to reclaiming the Olympics steeplechase title.
Our beach volleyball queens also need to report to camp early to prepare for the Continental Cup set for June. The winner of the Continental Cup will punch the ticket to Paris and already the Egyptian pair of Doaa Elghobashy and Marwa Magdy look strong favourites to qualify following their African Games triumph. Not only did they beat Kenya’s Makokha and Wavinya in the African Games quarter-finals but also defeated them at the Zone Five Paris Olympics qualifiers held in Mombasa last December. Kenya needs at least two months of preparations on the sand to adapt to beach conditions ahead of the crucial Continental Cup where the winner takes it all.
Field events
It hasn’t been all gloom in Accra with Edwin Too and Winny Chepng’etich offering pleasant surprises by claiming silver in decathlon and triple jump respectively. At last, Julius Yego looks like he will have some good company in field events at the Olympics if the youngsters can meet the qualifying standards by June.
NOC-K should once again partner with AK to ensure that both Too and Chepng’etich get access to quality training facilities in Team Kenya’s camp in Miramas in order to improve their personal bests and hopefully book their seats in the plane to Paris.
Teams like Malkia Strikers, Shujaa and Lionesses should not be left behind in the pre-Olympics preparations camp which should not only start early but also incorporate quality friendly matches to gauge our preparedness.
The performance in Accra, dismal as it is, could turn out to be a blessing in disguise if NOC-K endeavor to right the wrongs that the Sports Council has done. Over to you Tergat and your team, the clock is ticking...127 days to go!
