NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 23 – United States (US) Secretary of State John Kerry has invited President Uhuru Kenyatta to teach him how to run owing to the performance of the Kenyan team at the 2016 Rio Olympic Championships.
Kerry while congratulating the Kenya Olympics team noted that no nation’s athletes have ever accomplished in winning both men’s and the women’s marathon races at the Olympics.
“As a senator representing Massachusetts for 20 years and ran in the Boston Marathon years ago, I cannot tell you how much I admire runners from Kenya, it’s quite an extra ordinary record,” Kerry said during a news conference in Nairobi.
Kenya won 13 medals in the 2016 Rio Olympics Championships that include 6 Gold, 6 Silver and one Bronze.
Eliud Kipchoge won the men’s marathon on the final day of the Rio Olympics on Sunday, picking kenya’s second ever medal in the race after the late Samuel Wanjiru delievered the first in Beijing eight years ago.
Other gold medalists include Jemimah Sumsong who won the Women’s Marathon, the first ever for Kenya in the Olympics, Conseslus Kipruto who won the 3000 metres steeplechase, David Rudisha’s 800 metres and Vivian Cheruiyot’s stunning run in the 5000 metres beating pre-race favorite Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia.
Julius Yego led the silver medalist list, winning Kenya’s first ever gold in a field event while others who picked the same medal include Boniface Mucheru in the 400 metres hurdles, Vivian Cheruiyot (10,000m) Hellen Obiri (5,000m), Paul Tanui (10, 000m) and Hyvin Kiyeng (3,000m SC)
The lone bronze was won by youngster Margaret Nyairera who came third in the women’s 800m.
This comes even as questions are raised over the mismanagement of the team attracting interest of the highest office in the land, that of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
In a statement welcoming the team back to the country, President Kenyatta warned that “questions must be answered” over the reports of the team’s mismanagement.
“The problems which frustrated many sports people on international assignment go a long way to erode incentives for our athletes to proudly turn up in Kenyan colours and win. They should be, and will be a thing of the past very shortly,” the President said.
-By Kennedy Kang’ethe-