NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 20 – National Olympic Committee- Kenya (NOCK) president Paul Tergat has recounted how he had to bounce back from a horrendous international debut at the 1992 World Cross Country Championships in Boston.
Tergat narrated how the winter weather in the United States forced him to drop out of the race.
“I remember it was just after I had won the national cross country title. Back then, we did not have as much information as nowadays and so when I got to the U.S, I was shocked to find out that there is winter. It was my first time to see snow and to be in such cold weather with temperatures as low as -12,” Tergat said.
“I was dressed in tropical clothes because I hadn’t expected it to be so cold. Eventually, I did not make it to the start line and couldn’t compete,” he added.
The 1998 World Half Marathon champion, who has been at the helm of NOCK for the past six years, further revealed his ambition to enter sports administration began with his Olympic debut in 1996 in Atlanta.
“Even as you compete, you need to have a strategy for retirement. I remember competing in my first Olympics in Atlanta and I marveled at the organization of the competition. I told myself that when I retire from the sport, I want to be part of the decision makers in the International Olympic Committee to implement some of these things I had seen (in Atlanta),” Tergat said.
“That is where my journey to sports administration began. As I was retiring, I was elected as an individual member of the IOC. We have a vision and a calling to help grow the sport. Tomorrow when we are no longer here, we would like to see the fruits of these efforts because we are not doing these things for ourselves but the fourth and fifth generations,” the 1996 Olympics 10,000m silver medalist added.
NOCK have been busy for the last few months preparing Team Kenya for next week’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
The club games commence on July 27 until August 8.
Using his story, Tergat encouraged the present generation of athletes to always have a strategy for their careers regardless of setbacks experienced along the way.
“Carrying the national flag comes with a lot of expectations but there is no giving up. Setbacks should not stop you from pursuing your vision. Because I had a strategy and a vision, I was able to win five world cross country titles even after the setback in Boston,” he said.
