Kenyan athletes live to fight another day after Oregon horror show

Admittedly, many Kenyans have been left somewhat dejected by the fortunes of our athletes at the ongoing World Championships in Oregon.

As Athletics Kenya (AK), we share the same disappointment and know we could have done better as a team.

It was disheartening to see us lose out on the medal bracket in the men’s marathon as well as the men’s 1500m.

However, whereas criticism is welcome, we should be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water.

I urge a sober discussion among ourselves as a country even as we gnash our teeth at the disappointment in Oregon.

There are quite a number of positives we can pick up from Team Kenya’s performance in the United States.

Hats off to double Olympic 5000m silver medallist Hellen Obiri and world 5000m silver medallist Margaret Chelimo for the bravery and determination showcased to win the silver and bronze respectively in the women’s 10,000m.

Many bookmakers might not have tipped Stanley Waithaka Mburu to go toe-to-toe with world champion Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo, both of Uganda.

However, he tore up the form-book, fell down in the initial stages of the men’s 10,000m and ignored a debilitating injury to storm to second place.

Kudos to Judith Korir for taking on the responsibility of salvaging Kenyan pride in the women’s marathon, walking away with silver after the unfortunate withdrawal of defending champion Ruth Chepng’etich.

And, who can forget Faith Kipyegon, who cemented her status as a legend with a second world title in the women’s 1500m.

Such heroic feats should give every Kenyans a reason to smile and to look forward to the future with optimism. At the time of writing this, we are the second best nation from Africa, sitting third in the medal standings behind the United States and Ethiopia respectively.

Next week’s Commonwealth Games provides a chance for us to redeem the country’s image as an athletics powerhouse. Best believe the coaches have acquired valuable lessons from the sojourn in Oregon and will definitely look to rectify our mistakes.

In the meantime, there are still more chances remaining for the country to medal in Oregon and maybe topple Ethiopia in second position.

We wish all the best to the athletes who are yet to compete, such as in the men and women’s 800m as well as men’s and women’s 5000m.

Let’s go Team Kenya.