Kenya's athletics team did the country proud by finishing second to the United States at the 11th World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan, by far the country's best ever performance in the global track and field show's history.
Not only did Kenyan athletes engrave their names among the legends of sport, they also gave the country further assurance that they are on track for another splendid performance at next year's Olympic Games in Beijing.
Little known Prisons warder, Luke Kibet, opened the medal hunt for Kenya at dawn of the first day of competition, ending the country's 20-year wait for a world title in the men's race since Douglas Wakiihuri's triumph in Rome in 1987.
Brimin Kipruto (steeplechase), Janeth Jepkosgei, Alfred Kirwa Yego (both 800 metres) and Catherine Ndereba (marathon) won the other gold medals adding Kenya's overall tally to 13.
As the nation celebrates, however, Athletics Kenya's officials and coaches should not rest on their laurels, but ride on the crest of the latest wave of success to plant the seeds for next year's Olympics. They must place greater emphasis on competitions in which the country is struggling to make a mark.
What immediately comes to mind are the field events and the sprints. That Kenya clinched the gold at the 1972 Olympics in Munich after graduating from a silver at the 1968 Games in Mexico speaks volumes about the country's sprints potential.
Athletics Kenya ought to make use of the training and scholarship opportunities available from global sports organisations like the International Association of Athletics Federations and Olympic Solidarity to nurture deserving coaching talent in these areas.
With the Government having set rolling mouth-watering incentive packages for medallists at international competition, the climate couldn't have been better.
For the moment, though, congratulations are in order for the gallant men and women who flew the country's flag very high in Osaka. A welcome befitting national heroes and heroines should be accorded to the stars when they arrive home.
Not only did Kenyan athletes engrave their names among the legends of sport, they also gave the country further assurance that they are on track for another splendid performance at next year's Olympic Games in Beijing.
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Kweli Kabisa
By: Mkenya (Guest) on 05-09-2007 08:12