Which direction is the Kenyan men’s 3000m steeplechase heading?

It is a thought-provoking column on one of the iconic relationships that Kenyan Athletics has with the worldwide championships. Kenyan steeplechasers have a long-time relationship with the Olympics (first gold in 1968 with Amos Biwott) and World Championships (1991). 

From 1984 for the Olympics and 1991 for the World Championships, Kenyans have by no means missed a medal on the world stage, within the males’s 3000m steeplechase occasion, nearly all of the medals being gold medals. They barely maintained that streak by successful a single bronze medal on the final Olympics and on the final two World Championships.

What has modified? What’s the function of Kenyan males’s 3000m steeplechase? Is it not off course, and is there any hope of the nation doing properly on the Paris Olympic Video games subsequent yr?

A Kenyan TV station, NTV Kenya, interviewed various present and former Kenyan runners within the occasion, they usually had some attention-grabbing observations to share.

“Reclaiming the lads’s 3000m steeplechase occasion must be handled as an emergency case. The nation ought to give you a staff to deal with the Steeplechase disaster, and we have now good guys who can reclaim the glory. With the correct coaching, we’re going to get it again.” Paul Kipsiele Koech, the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, mentioned.

Nonetheless, the 1991, 1993, and 1995 world 3000m steeplechase champion, Moses Kiptanui, was rather less optimistic and extra factual in his opinions.

“It could be arduous to get again to the place we have been up to now as a result of different international locations are arising within the occasion as properly, and a few Kenyan-born runners at the moment are representing nations that provide them higher coaching services and facilities,” he mentioned.

4-time world champion Ezekiel Kemboi identified the necessity for Kenyan runners to focus extra on the world championship occasions than on the Diamond League circuits if they’re to reclaim the world titles.

“Lamecha Girma and Soufiane El Bakkali did just a few races earlier than the world championships this yr in comparison with our high guys within the occasion,” Kemboi mentioned.

“We have to have superior planning, specialised coaches for various occasions, and extra sponsorship,” the legendary Dr. Kipchoge Keino mentioned, including the necessity to put the rising abilities collectively in a single camp and giving them the required help and specialised teaching for his or her particular occasions.

This might, nevertheless, be fairly difficult to do, provided that these athletes are in numerous managements with totally different pursuits.

Leonard Bett, the 2017 World U17 champion, talked about the necessity to have athletes prepare of their regular coaching locations after the nationwide picks are carried out, as altering the coaching environments typically impacts some runners. Kenyan runners are often put in a single nationwide coaching camp after the nationwide staff is called.

“The steeplechase is a technical sport, and it wants a specialised coach and a stadium the place runners can observe the right way to clear the boundaries,” Bett added.

Conseslus Kipruto, the 2016 Olympic and two-time world champion, believes that Kenyans can nonetheless reclaim their favourite occasion. “The issue with some Kenyan runners is that they consider some athletes are stronger than them, they usually solely purpose for positions behind them,” mentioned the 2017 London and 2019 Doha World Champion.

As one other Olympic yr comes up, it’ll stay to be seen whether or not Kenyan runners within the males’s 3000m steeplechase occasion will grasp on to the final medal on the rostrum, transfer to a greater medal, or get a couple of medal in Paris.