If we do not invest in our athletes, we shouldn’t hit the roof when they change nationality
Saif Saaeed Shaheen of Qatar celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men's 3,000 metres steeplechase at the 10th World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland on August 9, 2005 Martin Meissner | AFP
At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Cherono further endeared himself to Kenyan athletics fans, graduating to the senior ranks in style by winning gold medal in 3,000m steeplechase
The athlete born and bred in Keiyo shocked the whole nation when he switched allegiance to Qatar in 2003 and went ahead to change his name
Very few sportsmen will resist the temptation to take up foreign nationalities in return for financial gain the way Dennis Oliech did in 2004 when he had the chance to be a citizen of Qatar
In many ways, athletes in Kenya are comparable to orphans living with foster parents. Like an orphan, most of the time you have a love-hate relationship with your local federation and the government.
And yes, most of the time you endure so much heartache and missed opportunities to advance your fledgling career while people either in government or at your national federation, who are paid a salary to build structures for talent development, actually work to stifle your progress through their action and inaction.
