World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has congratulated Athletics Kenya (AK) for its “extraordinary achievements” and “immense contribution” to track and field as the Kenyan federation celebrates its 70th anniversary.
Speaking on the eve of Tuesday's AK celebrations, the decorated two-time Olympic 1,500 metres champion and multiple middle distance world record holder said Kenyan athletes shaped his running career and, over the years, made immense contribution to endurance events.
“I’m hard-pressed - certainly in my events, endurance events – to think of a country that has contributed more to those events,” Coe said in a Zoom conference call with a group of African journalists Monday.
“From the middle 1960s, Amos Biwott was your first Olympic medallist on the cinder tracks, and then there’s the person I regard as the father of endurance in Kip Keino.
“And then a very close personal friend of mine who made me understand so much about the 800 metres - often in my early years I have only ever seen his back in the finishing straight - Mike Boit.
“And of course the women that have made extraordinary contributions, like Tegla Loroupe, not just on the field of play but with the refugee teams as well… Everywhere I look in my sport, I have been inspired by what Kenya has achieved. For instance, 97 of your 103 Olympic medals have been in track and field,” Coe celebrated Kenya’s success.
The World Athletics President added that Kenyan athletics is more than a sport as it had firmly positioned the country in the global scheme of things.
“It’s not just a sport, it’s not just a pastime, it’s a national obsession. It’s a passion!
“When people close their eyes and think about Kenya, so often the first images they have is the Kenyan flag and your extraordinary array of talented athletes over the years,” Coe added.
President Uhuru Kenyatta (second right) is welcomed at Kasarani by IAAF President Sebastian Coe prior to the IAAF World Under-18 Athletics Championships opening ceremony on July 12, 2017 at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
Photo credit: File | AFP
The former British Member of Parliament said he had recorded a special “birthday message” for AK which will be played at the federation’s 70th anniversary celebrations at Nyayo National Stadium.
“I wish everybody in the Kenyan federation, and all the athletes, past and present, a moment of reflection on the extraordinary achievements in Kenya and, hopefully, another 70 years of glory,” he said.
In the hour-long media engagement, Coe spoke on a wide range of issues and was happy that World Athletics had tackled the coronavirus-ravaged season well, managing to put together several top competitions, including the successful Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi in October.
“The first objective we set ourselves (after the pandemic struck in March), which was an understandable one because we are and athlete-centred organization, was to do everything we possibly could to get the athletes back into training and then into competition,” he explained.
“Secondly, because the Olympic Games had been postponed, we needed to expedite our current review of the Olympic qualification standards and systems and release any changes we were making as quickly as possible to the athletes.
IAAF president Seb Coe (right) chats with Local Organising Committee chairman Jackson Tuwei at the Kasarani stadium on July 11, 2017.
Photo credit: File | AFP
“To remove an Olympic Games has a knock-on effect, in our case, for five years and so it’s really important that we were reorganising our calendar in a way that was respectful to other events, particularly for some of you in Africa who consider the Commonwealth Games to be a very high priority.
“While the crisis management in that department was taking place, we then had to maintain the focus of growing the sport in alignment with the strategic plan.”
Coe summed up World Athletics’ performance in the troubled year: “We kept the show on the road, and we did it virtually better than any other sport…
“Football did well to get its competitions back up and running, but were able to do many creative things to keep our sport front and centre.”
Federation’s financial safety
He noted that technology has been “absolutely crucial” in the world body transacting business with its affiliates over the lock-down period.
Coe added that this year, World Athletics has also been focusing on not only solving problems, but also identifying the right problems to solve, including securing the federation’s financial safety.
“Because if we keep ourselves safe and protect our own finances and financial management systems, then that’s the best way of reducing risk for member federations’ and our area associations’ that are reliant on grant aid from us in order to deliver and develop the sport in their own locations.”
Coe noted that since 2015 when World Athletics (then International Association of Athletics Federations) came under global scrutiny for various reasons, including the financial impropriety of the leadership then, World Athletics has developed resilience.
