Daniel Kipngetich Komen,Remembered for his rivalry with Haile Gebrselassie, Komen’s most notable achievements came in a two-year period between 1996 and 1998, during which he broke a string of world records.
Kenyan government is to blame for the diminishing sporting standards in the country and not Athletics Kenya, it was revealed in Nairobi Kenya on Monday during an exclusive interview with ghetto radio sports desk.
The government of Kenya once again came under heavy criticism over its poor organizational structures in sporting matters as sentiments and reactions from a Kenyan sporting legend were echoed around Kenya’s capital and the country at large on Monday afternoon.
Daniel Kipng’etich Komen, former world indoor and outdoor 3000 m champion and record holder speaking exclusively to ghetto radio said that the government wasn’t doing enough especially during international events such as the Olympics and the commonwealth games.
Daniel Komen
“ The organizing committees are the ones causing problems, for instance during the commonwealth games or Olympics you find someone in management from let’s say boxing wanting to manage the whole group of all athletes, while he doesn’t have enough boxers or never even participated in the selection of his players.” The 18 year world 300 m record holder was disappointed.
Komen however thinks that Kenya’s athletic federation is doing enough to support Kenyan runners and points out his blaming finger to the government for the poor standards of sports in general in the country.
“When it comes to Olympics or the commonwealth games, we might send around 169 athletes to the event and say we end up with 25 medals like when we went to the commonwealth games of 1994 Vancouver Canada. In which discipline do the medals come from? Or at least let’s say more than three quarters of them?” asked Komen and added that, “ most of those medals are brought to Kenya by runners, if it wasn’t for Athletics Kenya, I don’t think our runners would have done an inch better than what they are doing now.”
The country’s sporting organizing committees however inclusive of federations like Athletics Kenya have also come under fire from the media and most athletics stake holders in the country due to poor treatment of athletes when in camp, an issue that Komen acknowledges, but still thinks that the government top dogs in sports are responsible because only such issues happen during events where different sporting disciplines are involved.
“A lot of things happen that are not good for our athletes, I know for a fact that Nike sends all training equipment early in advance, but it’s very shameful to find those kits being sold on the streets like recently during the commonwealth games in Glasgow Scotland, athletes complained that they dint have adequate training gear while you find the same with the public in the streets,” Komen said, “ these issues happen only during events like Olympics or commonwealth where we have different sporting disciplines representing Kenya, I have never witnessed such situations in events where only athletics is involved because Athletics Kenya does its job well.”
Despite Athletics Kenya getting much praise from former athletes like Daniel Komen, some dirty linen have recently been displayed in public, an issue that Komen did not want to comment about.
A local daily recently reported that athletics Kenya bosses swindled 18 million Kenya shillings during the 2011 world athletics championships in Daegu, south Korea. The much criticized government of Kenya is reported to have covered the costs of the traveling party, while IAAF later reimbursed AK 7.3 million shillings, money that was never reported by the country’s athletic body nor was the country’s government notified, alleged the local daily.
While reacting to Wilfred Bungei’s election as the Nandi County athletics boss, Komen now faulted Kenya’s athletics top body for not changing its constitution over the years to accommodate retired athletes into leadership.
“ I think Athletics Kenya should change its constitution to accommodate retired athletes who want to join different leadership positions that involve the politics of the day,” Komen thought, “ There is a huge problem especially from the grassroots level where you find people with money bribing their way into top positions while in real sense these guys have no idea what athletic leadership and management is and needs.”
Komen thinks also that the future of Kenyan athletics lies in nurturing talents from a younger age with institutions with money coming to invest into athletics.
“Many countries are now catching up with us and it’s just a matter of time before we take a back seat. In the United States of America and England for instance, sports is concentrated in colleges and universities because those institutions have all the required facilities to develop their sports men and women,” said the man who also helps athletes from his Elegeyo Marakwet county to secure athletics student scholarships in the United States of America and added that, “ back in the days when I trained with Mo farah, he was only nine years old, but the facilities available to him in his adopted country England has highly favored his athletic prowess.”
Daniel Komen who is now retired from international races, currently holds the world record for the 3000 metres both outdoors (7:20.67 set in 1996) and indoors (7:24.90 set in 1998). In addition, with his 7.58.61 world record in the 2-mile race set in 1997, he remains the only man in history to run back-to-back sub-four-minute miles, advices Kenyan athletes not to shy away from track and field though he understands that marathons now generate a lot of income for athletes unlike track and field.
The former world champion and still 3000 m record holder is now an ambassador for different projects including education in his County.
Author: Shadrack Andenga Odinga