)
The veteran athletics coach gave a detailed assessment of why the men performed way below expectation at the Paris Olympic Games.
Veteran athletics coach Micah Chebet has detailed several reasons behind Team Kenya’s men’s performance at the Paris Olympic Games.
The men managed to claim a gold medal in the 800m courtesy of Emmanuel Wanyonyi, a silver through Ronald Kwemoi in the men’s 5000m and two bronze medals courtesy of Abraham Kibiwott and Benson Kipruto.
In an interview with Sport Lite 35, Chebet explained that one major problem is that athletes don’t travel with their coaches and most male athletes are always taught to be strong despite having injuries.
)
11:43 - 08.09.2024
'Never give up on your dreams'-Tara Davis-Woodhall and husband Hunter Woodhall reflect on journey to Olympic glory
Tara and Hunter Woodhall reflect on their Olympic journeys and share emotional messages to their younger selves about resilience.
The tactician explained that coaches who stay with athletes in the camps are the ones who understand what they go through and would be in better positions to travel with and attend to their athletes. He added that this has made most athletes suffer at the hands of other coaches with the fear of opening up.
Follow the Pulse Sports Kenya X handle for more updates.
“At the Olympics, I just feel like ladies will be shining but the men have a slight problem…we have a long way to go. I want to encourage the men to keep working hard because the future is not that promising for them. The major problem with the men in Kenya stems from the coaching…we have two types of coaches in Kenya at the moment. We have military coaches and civilian coaches and those coaches stay with the athletes all the time,” Chebet said.
“When trials are coming up, the coaches always stay with the athletes but when the time for the trials comes, most of those coaches who have stayed with athletes do not go to witness the athletes compete. With this, some athletes might go to the trials injured and will be forced to run and when they go to the Olympic Games, they will not perform well. The coaches who are supposed to travel with the athletes are those who worked with them before the trials,” he added.
Chebet noted that most male athletes are always out to make quick money hence switching to road races and taking the most available roles like pacing for the women in the marathon. He added that competing in road races and then moving to the track is never a successful move in most times.
He explained that this has made Ugandans and Ethiopians go one step better, unlike previous times when Kenya was a threat to all the nations when it came to running the track and road races. If the issues are not addressed, Chebet fears that nations like Tanzania might dethrone Kenya.
“There is a problem with camps since most of them that are in this country are just for marathoners. Most of the young athletes switch to the track after being pacemakers for the ladies. They are just looking for quick money and that’s why they opt to become pacemakers. The government should also look into the welfare of the athletes so they can take the right steps before switching to road races,” he added.
)
11:04 - 07.09.2024
'They had me on jail!' -Kenny Bednarek expresses frustration over strict kitting policy during Paris Olympics
Bednarek, who nomarly tests different headbands before races, was restricted to using a standard one during the Paris Olympic games.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)