Team Kenya at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Top of Africa screams the headline. It is a rare day when the endless noise of Kenyan politics is not the main story in Kenyan media. 

Team Kenya with 4 golds, 4 silvers and 2 bronze is the best ranked nation in Africa on the medal standings at the conclusion of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

Due to this achievement, sports which is rarely taken serious in Kenya – whether in the newsroom, in the corporate world, by the national or county governments or even by the Kenyan public – gets it’s once-in-every four years moment to briefly shine before it is once again ignored. 

What do you think of the performance of Team Kenya at the Olympics is a question that I was asked a lot since the start of the Games.  

Given that the athletics program started on the second week of the Olympics and Kenyans were impatient for wins early on, a narrative was born and it stuck that Team Kenya preparations were poor, the team sent to Tokyo was bad, heck there was even fake news about the number of officials accompanying the team. 

The National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) which is the body mandated by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to run Olympics related matters in the country delivered in its job.

There was no issue of kits being stolen or allowances not being given to sportspeople as has been the norm in past Olympics. This was alleged to have happened during the last Olympics held in Rio in 2016 resulting in those in-charge being arraigned in court. It is a testament to the slow nature of Kenya’s wheels of justice that the Rio case that involves among others former Sports minister Dr. Hassan Wario is still dragging on in court. 

Additionally, with it being a pandemic year, NOC-K ensured the sportspeople heading to Tokyo were put in training bubbles. Luckily no Kenyan heading for the Olympics tested positive for Covid before or during the games. 

To boost performance in Tokyo, Team Kenya was even accompanied by a sports psychologist, a sports scientist, a strength and conditioning coach and a nutritionist.

So NOC-K under legendary athlete Paul Tergat did its work with the sportspeople it was given. 

Still under NOC-K it is fair to celebrate the fact that Kenyan rugby legend Humphrey Kayange under the recommendation of the IOC President Thomas Bach was appointed to be a member of the IOC Athlete Commission.

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The mandate of preparing, qualifying and selecting sportspeople to represent Kenya at the Olympics falls under the specific national federations. 

Only after a sports person has qualified for the Olympics does NOC-K get involved. Therefore, the biggest responsibility regarding performance falls on the national federations. 

Now to answer the question about performance let’s tackle each sports on its own.

Athletics:

Athletics is the cornerstone of Kenya’s sporting dominance and the Olympics is no different.

Since 1964 independent Kenya has participated in 13 Olympics (there were boycotts in 1976 and 1980) and bagged a total of 35 gold medals. All the golds apart from 1 have come from athletics. 

Tokyo 2020 was no different with athletics delivering all the 4 gold medals Kenya won. 

Of the 4 golds, 2 were in the marathons with track victory only in 1500m women’s and 800m men’s races. 

For awhile now Kenya’s athletics dominance has been taken for granted. However, Athletics Kenya which is the federation that runs the sport in the country has to wake up and smell the coffee before it is too late. 

Men’s 3000m steeplechase race has traditionally been Kenya’s race. Since the first win during the 1968 Olympics by Amos Biwott, a Kenyan has won the steeplechase gold in every Olympics Kenya has participated. In Tokyo 2020 Kenya lost her steeplechase crown managing only bronze. 

Kenya has only ever won the Olympics men’s 10000m race once when Naftali Temu was victorious in 1968 in Mexico City. 11 attempts later and Kenya has been unable to solve this puzzle. The Olympics women’s 10,000m was introduced in 1988 and no Kenyan woman has ever won gold. 

In the Olympics 5000m race only John Ngugi (1988) and Vivian Cheruiyot (2016) have ever won gold for Kenya. 
In Tokyo, Hellen Obiri was fourth in the women’s 10k and she bagged silver in the women’s 5k. While for the men Nicholas Kimeli was fourth in 5k and Rodgers Kwemoi in 7th was best placed Kenyan in 10k. 

Part of the problem has been that Kenyan 5,000m and 10,000m athletes opt to switch to road (marathon) running very early and not after a long successful career on the track. There is more money in road running and as athletes run to make money their choice is obvious. It is up to AK to figure out what Ethiopia, Uganda and even America are doing right.

In the middle distances – 800m and 1500m – it’s a mix of hope and despair. 

Men’s 800m transition seems to have been managed well. The absence of David Rudisha was not felt as America-based Emmanuel Korir won gold and Ferguson Rotich took silver in Tokyo. 

Women’s 800m transition looks shaky. With the end of the era that had Eunice Sum, Janeth Jepkosgei and Pamela Jelimo, Kenya had no representation in the Tokyo final won by 19 year old American and in which a 19 year old Briton took silver. 

Timothy Cheruiyot won silver in the men’s 1500m after poor tactics in the final but the emergence of Abel Kipsang who set an Olympic record in the semifinals before placing fourth in the final shows there is current and future potential. 

In the women’s 1500m, Faith Kipyegon defended her Rio Olympics gold. That is the great news. The bad news is there does not seem to be another Faith bubbling under ready to take over the mantle. 

The sprints – 100m, 200m, 400m and relays – have never been taken seriously by Athletics Kenya. While the middle and long distance running is all about talent and little expert input, the sprints require financial input which AK opts not to do. 

Sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala made it to the final of the 100m men’s race setting the national record twice in Tokyo which was great. 

However, there was a cloud of doping hanging over the Kenyan sprint success as 100m sprinter Mark Otieno tested positive for a banned substance and could not compete in Tokyo. Incidentally, Omanyala had previously served a ban for a doping violation.

In men’s javelin despite Julius Yego throwing his season best of 77.34m he did not get to the final. Remember he threw a massive 92.72m in 2015 Beijing Worlds to win gold and 88.24m in 2016 Rio Olympics to bag silver.

Seems to be an end of an era with no immediate successor in sight. 

Overall, my take home from athletics in Tokyo is Uganda has joined Ethiopia as credible opponents and Kenya has to do more to protect its turf and legacy. The days of just showing up and winning are over. 

With teenagers and 20 year olds winning athletics golds for their countries at the Olympics, Athletics Kenya has to ask itself whether the pipeline of Kenyan athletics talent has been punctured. 

The country hosted a very successful and well-attended World Under 18 athletics championships in 2017. This led to Nairobi winning the bid to host the World Under 20 athletics championships in 2020 that was pushed to 2021 due to Covid-19.

But Kenya does not seem to have reaped rewards of hosting the age-grade athletics championships to identify young talent to bolster the seniors ranks. What happened to Edward Zakayo, George Manangoi, Jackline Wambui and Carren Chebet all who won gold for Kenya at the 2017 World-U18 in Kasarani? Only Mary Moraa who narrowly missed a spot in the final of the Olympics women’s 800m final seems to have emerged as a young red hot talent for Kenya.

Aside from more intensive talent identification and nurturing, training and coaching of Kenyan athletes has to get modernized.

Sports infrastructure (stadia) in Kenya has to be sorted out urgently as athletes should not be worrying about where to train. The main facility in Eldoret – Kipchoge Keino stadium – has been under renovation since 2016.

The doping menace also has to be stamped out. Additionally Athletics Kenya should have a coherent rule book regarding an athlete who has served a doping ban representing Kenya.

Clearly there is potential to diversify and win medals in sprints and in field events but success requires Athletics Kenya to  invest heavily and constantly and not just depend on an athlete to train via YouTube and achieve success. 

Athletics Kenya elections is a conversation that needs to happen with fresh blood needed at Riadha House.

Boxing:

Robert Wangila Napunyi poses with his Seoul Olympics gold – courtesy of The Standard online

Boxing has the honour of winning 1 out of the 35 gold medals Kenya has ever won at an Olympics. Robert Wangila Napunyi won the gold during the Seoul Olympics in 1988. 

This was the climax  of the Hit Squad performing well at the Olympics that began with Philip Waruinge winning featherweight bronze in Mexico City in 1968 and upgrading to silver in 1972 in Munich. 

Since then the Hit Squad – which is the name of the Kenyan boxing team – has been taking hits. 

In Tokyo 2020 all the 4 reps lost their in first bouts. From the thrashing the boxers got the level of Kenyan boxing is sub-standard.

Coaching and training, needs to be upgraded to embrace  modern rules so as to eliminate constant complaints about robbed victories. The league also should being revitalized and the dormant clubs awakened to tap new talent from the hordes of unemployed youth. 

The Boxing Federation of Kenya clearly has its work cut out.

Rugby sevens:

Shujaa captain Andrew Amonde who has retired in a reflective mood at the end of his final game for Kenya

Rugby sevens was introduced to the Olympics in 2016 with Kenyan rugby legend Humphrey Kayange instrumental as an ambassador in the sport’s bid for Olympic status. 

The national sevens men’s team Shujaa has performed poorly at the Olympics. Shujaa finished 11th in Rio and only went one better to finish 10th out of 12 in Tokyo. 

This is disappointing given the huge potential. The probable next step in this familiar script is a change of coach, and player exits, retirements. One wonders if root problems will ever be addressed and a solid plan formed. 

Over the years the success of Kenya sevens has glossed over the problems at Kenya Rugby Union. With Shujaa performance dropping, the facade of Kenyan rugby success is unraveling. 

The Kenyan Rugby story has sad echoes of Kenyan cricket which reached the peaks of a semifinal berth in the Cricket World Cup before crashing down to oblivion. Hopefully history will not be repeated.

In the Women’s 7s rugby Kenya was represented by the Lionesses who finished 10th out of 12 after playing with a lot of heart.

This despite Covid protocol challenges where half the team had to quarantine in Tokyo until just before the start of competition after sharing a flight with someone who tested positive.

The ladies need more support and they will achieve just as much as the men’s sevens national team has. 

Volleyball:

After a 16 year absence the national women’s volleyball team qualified for the Olympics Indoor Volleyball.
The Malkia Strikers lost 5 out of 5 matches and won zero sets. The African champions showed potential and played with a lot of joy. 

Sharon Chepchumba, Leonida Kasaya and captain Mercy Moim stood out and one hopes they secure professional playing contracts abroad. 

Curious how Kenyan coach Paul Bitok who engineered the return to Olympics was demoted to assistant coach and a group of Brazilian coaches initially seconded to the team as technical advisors were promoted to the head coach as well as team manager. 

With the upcoming retirement of the long-time chair, the Kenya Volleyball Federation needs fresh blood and hopefully former volleyballers get into sports administration. 

For the first time Kenya qualified for Women’s Beach volleyball. The team lost 4 out of 4 matches and won 0 sets. However there is potential, there is sand and for starters Coastal county governments should take up this sport. 

Taekwondo:

Faith Ogallo was sole representative. She lost in her first match where she could not score a point losing 13-0.

Her technical skills were totally lacking but you could not blame her as much of Kenyan taekwondo is individual effort and just her qualifying for the Olympics was a huge accomplishment. 

Swimming:

Emily Muteti  placed 43 out of 81 in women’s 50m freestyle heats while Danilo Rosafio placed 56 out of 70 in the men’s 100m freestyle heats. 

Both swimmers got wildcards to participate in Tokyo from the international swimming body. They are arguably the best in the country with the fact that their swimming exploits are financed by their parents playing a huge part.

Unfortunately, Kenyan swimming drowned long ago with wrangles in Kenya Swimming Federation the norm. 

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With the Tokyo Olympics done and dusted it will be interesting to read the official report that will be prepared by the National Olympics Committee of Kenya. 

While NOC-K and even the Sports ministry may have done a fairly good job at managing the Tokyo Olympics team there is pause for concern regarding management of sports in the country by the various sports federations. 

Case in point is that Archery, Judo, Weightlifting representation which was present in Rio 2016 was missing in Tokyo 2020.

Over the years, Kenya has also had Olympics representation in Shooting, Hockey, Wrestling, Weightlifting, Cycling and Rowing.

It is a shame that now most of these sports do not have a functional league or even a functional federation. 

Globally sports has proven to be a big industry that generates billions of dollars.

Given Kenyan sports peoples’ raw talent that enables the constant success, just imagine if Kenya took sports seriously the amount of money and employment to Kenyan youth that this industry would generate. 

Simiyu’s quest to change the soul of Kenya Sevens

The national sevens rugby team head coach Innocent Simiyu gets a second bite of the cherry and a chance to right the ship after a torrid first year as the head coach.

Speaking at the team’s pre-season training session at the RFUEA grounds, Simiyu cut the image of a man at ease with his challenge and one who has the respect of his charges ahead of what will be a tough and long season.

“It was not all doom and gloom last season. We exposed several young players. I was happy with our expansive game. Into the new season it is time for the foundation we laid last season to now flourish.”

Pundits have questioned whether he is his own man or a merely lackey of the Union. Simiyu may not have the large-than-life personalities of Benjamin Ayimba or Mike Friday but in his unassuming, professorial nature there is steel that shines through.

“Biggest thing I want to do is to improve the Kenyan rugby player. When a player is dropped from Shujaa, he drops in life. If we can improve the player such that they can improve their life for good and also when they stop playing they still contribute to the Kenya sevens eco-system then I shall have achieved something. Player is key. Changing the culture and creating purpose is the way.”

Having covered the team for close to half a decade at close range I was intrigued as to what change in culture meant for the former Impala RFC captain and coach.

“Culture is how Kenya Sevens team behaves, operates and interacts with society. We have to change that. Purpose is who we are and why are we here. If cam get clarity on that then there is sustainability in what we are doing.”

The national sevens rugby team last season struggled in the World Rugby series blowing hot and cold before finishing 12th with a mere 63 points. Many questioned the ability of Simiyu who despite being a top rugby player in his day had little experience as a coach.

“There will always be doubting Thomases. It is life. For us key is to improve the player, play better, develop the game and off course win. Yes, we understand the expectations of Kenyans who want us to win everything.”

In his first season coach Simuyu despite a target of 10 points a leg, only led Shujaa to 2 main cup quarterfinals in the 10 legs of the series. He cited a poor pre-season for the team’s dismal run. This season he has had the luxury of starting early and not spend most of the season firefighting. With 12 players in camp ‘Namcos’ asserts that training has been good and that he has had 100 percent attendance.

“Quite excited. Wish we keep the momentum and energy that we have started with. I have a feeling that things will be very good this season.”

Simiyu only had Team Manager Eric Ong’weno in his technical bench for most of the season after Strength and Conditioning coach Ian Gibbons resigned early on. Ahead of the 2017/2018 season Kenya Rugby Union has promoted performance analyst William Webster to assistant coach and rehired Geoffrey Kimani as the strength and conditioning coach.

“It is reliving. I was quite lonely. It is lovely that we have a full set of management. Kim has hit the ground running. He is in familiar grounds and we are happy to have him back. As for Will, he is good in analysis and this relives the pressure on me to focus on tactics.”

Shujaa have a busy season ahead with the World Sevens Series starting in December in Dubai, the Commonwealth Games in Perth Australia in April 2018 and the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Fransisco USA in July 2018. This means a happy, committed and settled squad is key and areas like contracts, health insurance have to be sorted out early.

“Contracts have been given. The players are to read then sign. The contracts are better and all the benefits are there. It is one of the best packages given. We have improved what we are offering because it is going to be a tough season. The players will tackle 16 tournaments and we require 100 percent commitment so we must compensate them.”

Last season Simiyu fell short of his 10 points per leg goal and this season he has a different outlook in as far as goal-setting.

“As management we shall be player-centric. It is not about us but about the players. Process of goal-setting is bottom up. Players set individual targets, then we set team targets. So they have the developmental forms to fill then we take it from there.”

The national sevens circuit kicked off with the Driftwood leg in Mombasa and will conclude with the Dala Sevens in Kisumu five legs later. The circuit curtain rises for the Safari Sevens which is scheduled to be held in early November while also on paper being a chance for the technical bench to pick new players.

“There is a selection committee of 5 checking out the players in the circuit. We want all the players to show what they have got. We have the core 12 in training then we pick 28 from circuit to make 40 then we whittle down to around 30. Even the 12 have to play a minimum of 2 legs. It is not a surety that they will be in the team, they have to prove themselves. They are on probation.”

For many coaches it is winning that is the bottom-line but for Simiyu there is seemingly a desire to build a legacy that can withstand the test of time at Kenya Sevens. Given that the team has had five coaches in five years ‘Namcos’ will have to deliver results on the pitch to be given time to build the culture that he envisions.

GOD BLESS KENYA!

(transcribed from an interview with Innocent Simiyu on 5th August at RFUEA grounds)

PS: All images courtesy of Google.

Lessons from the Kenya versus Germany Test Match

The Germany national fifteens rugby team won the Test match against Kenya Simbas 29-30 with the last play of the game. A superbly taken drop kick ended coach Jeroome Paarwaters’ long-running winning streak at the RFUEA grounds.

The Road to Japan Rugby World 2019 started with a stumble but that may be a good thing if questions are asked and answers got.

There were a huge number of senior players dropped by the technical bench before the start of the season. The bench stated that they were not up to scratch while word went round that they had being pushed aside for being too vocal about player welfare. What is the truth? Can a middle ground be found?

Of what value was the ten day tour of South Africa? Can a team really get good value from just a ten day trip? There are also reports that a trip to New Zealand is in the pipeline. The ‘bench-marking’ tours are great on paper but their actually tangible benefit on game day is the question. Also, should they be so close to game day such that jet-lag seems to be an issue.

The list of sponsors for the Test Series was quite impressive and every five minutes the announcer earned his pay with a mention of the long list of sponsors: Sportpesa, Tatu City, Safaricom, Tusker, Dasani, etc. The coffers are presumably quite full and it follows that within reason anything the Kenya fifteens team and the technical bench need should be availed. Is that the case? Why then are the fifteens players not on contract like their seven’s counterparts?

Kenya missed out on qualification to the 2015 rugby world cup by just one match. This time round does Kenya Rugby Union have a coherent concrete plan to see Kenya bag the ticket to Japan 2019? For starters a decision has to be made on whether to continue with the players who have worked hard to lift Kenya up in the rankings or to retire them and try qualifying with young blood.

If KRU does have a plan then it is holding it quite close to its chest. However, if I can hazard a guess, it is probably business as usual and hoping for the best. That will certainly not do.

KRU is not the only one that has to step up if Kenya is to play in Japan.

The Simbas had beaten Spain and Portugal with ease in Test matches last year and the Germans who were two slots below in the world rugby rankings were expected to be easy prey.

However, from the onset The Germans seemed to be on the ascendancy with compact defensive play, brilliant forward work at scrum, mauls and line-outs as well as explosive bursts of speed when they spotted a gap. They certainly were the better team overall throughout the match and were good value for the win.

For Kenya, the forwards looked quite sluggish and they totally outplayed and this denied Kenya a platform to build on. As for the backs they were sucked into the contact play and Kenya seemingly lacks a play-maker to switch up the game or to split a defense. It felt over and over like the same play. Either try smash through the middle and when that was stopped by the resolute Germans taking it all the way wide to Jacob Ojee or to Darwin Mukidza to run on the line. It worked twice but it certainly is not enough as the one point loss showed.

The bad news is that the Kenya Simbas are seemingly not yet world cup material. The good news is with the bubble burst so early in the season Kenya can now work at being ready to try qualify for the rugby world cup. A silver lining to the 29-30 loss witnessed by one of the largest crowds RFUEA grounds has hosted.

“Rugby is Ngong Road and Ngong road is rugby” tweeted an avid football fan who had heeded the cry to be part of the Kenya Simba’s pride at RFUEA. Heck, even Jack Oguda, the C.E.O and Frank Okoth, the C.O.O of KPL were in the V.I.P area enjoying the rugby and marveling at the huge fan attendance which Kenyan football can only dream of. Respect to whoever was in charge of the marketing effort, job very well

That Ngong Road is the spiritual home of rugby in Kenya is now beyond doubt and that Kenyans are hungry for a sporting spectacle on a Saturday afternoon is not in question.

However, as has been stated on numerous occasions, the RFUEA grounds need a total makeover.

There needs to be seating stands all round the stadium for the fans as watching rugby while standing is not kosher. Public washrooms need to be build or hired as the ones at the Quins club house are not enough. The changing rooms available may just about pass muster for Eric Shirley games but definitely not for Kenya Cup much less international matches.

Security felt quite blaze and reckon it has to done in a better way given the current realities. Parking was a nightmare and a solution to that has to be thought of and while at it a way not to clog up Ngong Road. The queue to purchase tickets was pretty long and perhaps ticket sales should be moved online and also outsourced. An aside; it was cute seeing Homeboyz RFC players man the ticket booth but it showed a lack of professionalism.

Rugby is as much about the game as the party. Quins was overwhelmed as a party destination as early as 6pm with someone tweeting at 10pm that it was “a mess”. Clearly, therein is an opportunity for event organizers.

With Safari Sevens scheduled to return to RFUEA grounds in November, KRU have a time-bound deadline to beat to fix all these glaring inadequacies at RFUEA.

Lastly, congratulations to KCB who beat Kabras Sugar to lift the Enterprise Cup for a third consecutive season. The final was played at 12pm. It was supposedly the curtain raiser for the Test Match that kicked off at 4pm. Why should a Cup final curtain raise a test match? Felt that this was unfair for the players, the fans and the neutrals. A better scheduling of games should be considered by the Union.

With local fifteens rugby season done and dusted it is now time for speed and thrills in the 6-leg national sevens rugby series. Series kicks off with Mombasa’s Driftwood Sevens on July 22 followed by Nairobi’s Kabereri Sevens on July 29 before taking a break in August for the General Election and resuming in September.

For Kenya Simbas next up is Elgon Cup first leg away to Uganda on June 10 with the return leg signalling the start of the 2017 Africa Cup that has been expanded to six teams: Senegal and Tunisia added to Namibia, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya.