Greener pastures lure Kenyan athletes

After Lydia Cheromei won the junior world cross country title in 1991 in Spain she flew home to Kenya but there was no welcoming party of athletics officials waiting to congratulate her at the airport.

Instead, Cheromei had to take public transport to reach the city centre. Fearing her precious gold medal might be stolen by pickpockets in Nairobi, she wrapped it in a handkerchief before boarding another bus to her school in Iten, 400 km away.

More than a decade later, many Kenyan athletes still feel they do not receive the same respect and financial incentives at home as they can command abroad.

Many retired athletes end their lives in abject poverty, with no pension to live on.

Some of Kenya's best runners are saying enough is enough and are defecting to countries in Europe and the rich Gulf states in search of more recognition and bigger financial rewards.

Now Kenyan athletics officials are fighting to stop more of the country's top runners leaving.

More than 10 Kenyans represented different nations at the Paris world championships last month and Kenyan officials were angry to see Stephen Cherono, running under his new name of Saif Saaeed Shaheen, win the 3 000 metres steeplechase for Qatar after switching nationality.

"Personally, I felt totally betrayed because we were not in the total picture," Kenyan Sports Minister Najib Balala told Reuters, referring to Cherono's defection.

"Everything was done behind the scenes," he said. "It demoralised our Kenyan team and that's why they performed so badly."

Kenya dropped to seventh in the medals table and lost the steeplechase title for the first time in 12 years.

ATHLETES FRUSTRATED

Shaheen said Qatar had promised him a monthly stipend of one thousand dollars throughout his life.

Kenya's latest defectors are Abdel Cheruiyot and Leonard Mucheru who have switched allegiance to Bahrain.

Cheruiyot, whose specialty is the 3 000 metres steeplechase, is now known as Abel Yagut Jowhar while Mucheru, who runs in the 5 000 metres, goes by the name of Mushir Salim Jowhar.

Moses Tanui, who won the 1991 world 10 000 metres title in Japan and a silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, said athletes who defected did so out of frustration.

"They train abroad at heavy cost. They buy tickets to attend trials back home only to be told they cannot represent their nation. This is very frustrating and I cannot blame these guys," said the former champion who successfully sued Athletics Kenya (AK) after he was dropped from the 2000 Sydney Olympics team.

The exodus of Kenyan athletes began with Wilson Kipketer, who settled in Denmark in 1992 and won three world 800 metres titles under his new nationality.

Due to strict Olympics rules governing change of nationality, Kipketer was not allowed to run in the 1996 Atlanta Games, when many say he was at his peak.

Ethiopian athletics coach Wolde Meskel Kostire said athletes who changed nationality for financial gain were setting "a bad example for the youth of Africa".

"Ethiopian athletes are incorruptible, their love for their country's flag is supreme," he added.

MEDICAL FEES

One former Kenyan Olympian, who asked not to be indentified, said he would be devastated if his son ended up in poverty as he had.

"I am grooming my son to become a world and Olympic champion but I would not like to see him end up like myself," he said in Eldoret, a Rift Valley town that has been home to dozens of Kenya's champion athletes.

"I was in three Olympic Games, four world championships and two World Cups and here I am queuing to board a matatu (public minibus)," he said. "I do not even have a permanent house.

"If defecting to another country can secure a comfortable future for the young athletes, so be it," he said.

In January, Balala waived medical fees for Kenya's first Olympic gold medallist Naftali Temu, who was in hospital for weeks. Temu eventually died and some sports fans said the minister's gesture was too little too late.

The case of 1987 world 10 000 metres champion Paul Kipkoech, who died a poor man in his native Kapsabet, is still fresh in Kenyans' minds.

"Money cannot produce nationalism or patriotism but there should be some economic reward and recognition," Balala said. "We're looking at many options like naming a street in their honour - it's not a small recognition, it's a big recognition."

In a bid to retain talent, AK held a gala night in January at which all the country's Olympic, Commonwealth and world medallists were feted and given cheques and plaques recognising their achievements.

AK secretary general David Okeyo said: "It is better late than never. I urge our athletes to be patient. We shall do better things for them." Reuters