Women finally come through

Caroline Chepkurui represents the simplicity of a Kenyan woman athlete.

Unspoilt and still leading a simple village life in Ole Nguruoni, Nakuru, Chepkurui, 16, is a primary school pupil at Sotiki and a star in the making.

At the IAAF World Junior Athletics Championships in Beijing, she conquered her age-group winning a gold medal in the 3,000 metres steeplechase despite running barefoot in an age where shoe manufacturers pay as much as Sh730,000 annually to athletes to wear their products.

On the other hand, Chepkurui is also a symbol of hope for women athletes who are challenging men in international competition, much as they are also an endangered species the Government is determined to protect.

In Beijing, Chepkurui, Mercy Kosgei and Veronicah Nyaruai won gold medals to match the Kenyan boys' performance at the global competition. Irene Chelagat, Caroline Kiplagat, and Winnie Chebet again equalled the boys with silvers.

The girls were separated by a single boys' bronze medal won by Joseph Ebuya in the 10,000 metres.

This performance came days after women won three gold medals against men's five at the Africa Championships in Mauritius.

The senior winners were Janeth Jepkosgei (800m), Edith Masai (10,000m) and Jeruto Kiptum (3,000m steeplechase).

Chepkurui will eventually learn to use spikes but, for now, she has revived the debate on why Kenya's women athletes have been unable to match the men in performance.

She and her colleagues represent the new-found image of the Kenyan woman who is no longer excess baggage in international competition 

The girls in Beijing proved to be peers among equals and for a very good practical reason. 

When Kenya jumped onto the top of the world medal standings on August 18 in Beijing, women were given the credit.

The bronze of Mary Wacera actually put them ahead of the men. Winnie Chebet could have won the gold in the 800m had she not slowed down at the finish line on a night David Rudisha and Jackson Kivuva won gold and silver in the 800m. 

During the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Jepkosgei surprised the world by beating Maria Mutola in the 800m, a feat she repeated at the Africa Championships early this month.

Since 2003, women have greatly improved the profile of Kenyan athletics at the World Championships and Olympics Games.

Catherine Ndereba won a gold medal at the 2003 World Championships in an edition only one man, Eliud Kipchoge, won a gold.

Isabella Ochichi and Edith Masai have had a very strong presence in the world cross-country championships too. 

Different theories have been advanced as to why the Kenyan women have lagged behind in athletics despite their enormous talent.

But John Velzian, a veteran coach of more than four decades' experience, points out that women never had a role models to draw inspiration from.

The men had people like Nyantika Maiyoro, one of the few athletes who excelled in international competition, long before Kenya gained independence, to ape.

Kipchoge Keino inspired those after him until late 1990s when more role models emerged and, today, their biggest draw is world marathon record holder Paul Tergat, leading by example in all ways on and off the track.

It has been pointed out that Tecla Lorupe, the twice New York Marathon champion and former marathon world record holder, made a women's breakthrough in athletics.

She was one of the first women who defied tradition to leave her rural homes and proceed to Germany where she started a career instead of seeking a warrior's hand in marriage.

Although she was in company of Kenyan men in Germany, Lorupe found it difficult to cut the yoke of servitude. She did extra work of cooking and laundry for boys before and after training.

Her manager, Volker Wagner, took none of this kindly and issued a directive that his was a camp for all and none was a lesser or greater being than the other.

Lorupe was inspired the likes of Sally Barsosio (1997 world champion at 10,000m), Jackline Maranga (1998 world short course cross-country champion) among others.

It was no longer a question of a woman following the traditional path of ending up as a housewife.

And, like we witnessed in Beijing last week, Kenya's women's athletics is destined for better times.