Uasin Gishu deputy governor Daniel Chemno is an angry man after Kenyans lost the 3,000m steeplechase title at the ongoing Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Addressing journalists during the official opening of Eldoret Media Hub, the Uasin Gishu Journalists Association (UJA) office, Chemno said it was a bad show for Kenyans to lose both men and women titles that have been dominated by Kenyans for a very long time.
Chemno said that that this being the Olympic season, it was shocking for Kenya to lose 3,000m steeplechase because the country has not invested in athletes.
“We have been succeeding because those athletes have been coming from Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and Kenya Police have been recruiting athletes. Also some agencies have been employing them. Through those entities, they have been able to train and perfect their talents because they have resources,” said Chemno.
He added that the country lost because in the past years there have been competitions coronavirus has affected many of them too.
“As a country, we have lost because of failing to bring in new blood. Remember in 2019 during Doha world championships, the Kenyan champion Conseslals Kipruto survived by whisker and when you see a lion fighting for the same meet with the hyena, then the lion is losing it, very soon, the hyena will eat the whole meet,” added Chemno.
He said that Kenyan athletes lost because things were not working and he wants the government to support youth athletes by employing them in Kenya Police and KDF, which has been our athlete’s backbone.
He also warned against Kenyans changing their allegiance to other nations.
“Today, we are looking at Kenyans flying other country’s flag. We want Kenyans to be proud of our country and carry their own flag to the Olympic Games and when you see a Kenyan, you know that is a Kenyan but now we are told this is a Kenyan from another country. A Kenyan name from another country. We want to build the youth to fly the Kenyan flag high.”