Many columns ago, I jumped to Novak Djokovic’s defence when the Serbian World Number 1 tennis player was kicked out of the 2020 US Open tournament on September 7 for hitting the ball at a line judge.
I pointed out that the line judge had blown the incident out of proportion, leading to Djokovic’s disqualification from the tournament. I also pointed out that others like the controversially-outspoken Nick Kyrgios, the Australian tennis star who is better known for his on-court antics and foul-mouthed tirades than for winning matches, had done worse things.
I still stand by my comments about the line official, but something happened this week that Kenyan athletes can learn from even as Covid-19 pandemic continues to bite.
Last Sunday, 25-year-old Kyrgios who is one of Australia’s top-ranked tennis players at the moment, poured his heart out about being in a "lonely, dark place" after suffering with depression while on tour.
The Covid-19 pandemic has decimated the sports calendar globally, forcing Kyrgios, like many Kenyan athletes, to cut his travels. He has not played tennis since February.
Kyrgios, who has been labeled “bad boy of tennis” due to his expletive-strewn comments on the court, said many people are not aware how lonely tennis can be.
"I felt like no-one wanted to know me as a person, they just wanted to get a hold of me as a tennis player and use me," he told Australian media, narrating an incident in Shanghai where “he did not want to see the light of day.”
"A lot of people were putting pressure on me and I put a lot of pressure on myself. I just lost joy for the game and I was spiraling out of control. I was afraid to go out and talk to people because I thought I'd let them down because I wasn't winning matches," Kyrgios added. It turns out that Kyrgios has been seeing a psychologist since 2008 over depression.
There are many Kenyan athletes, particularly runners, who may have not contracted Covid-19 but are suffering with depression as the pandemic bites.
Even worse, those who contract Covid-19 and are left struggling with the disease much longer may have mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and struggling to think clearly.
While some have lost income because they can’t go out and compete as they used to, the pandemic has disrupted training schedules of others, leading to poor performances in the few competitions they have entered, and the athletes may feel they have let down their fans because they are not winning races.
The other category is that of athletes who have fallen into depression after being banned either for failing dope tests or other doping violations.
Three-time world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop’s actions after being banned come to mind. On Friday, Kiprop’s successor over the distance, Elijah Manang’oi, was banned for two years for doping violation.
Like Kyrgios, athletes suffering depression first need to acknowledge the problem. This self-realisation need not necessarily be a kin to that of the Biblical Saul-turned-Paul on his way to Tarsus, but it could be the first step to turning the corner.
In April when Covid-19 deaths peaked in Europe, World Health Organisation pointed out that getting a cure would be a long shot and warned the world to brace for a long fight.
True to their word, no cure has been found but on Monday, Pfizer and BioNTech gave the world the biggest hope yet of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Pfizer is a New York-based American multinational pharmaceutical corporation while BioNTech is a German biotechnology company dedicated to the development and manufacture of active immunotherapies for a patient-specific approach to the treatment of serious diseases.
Both have announced that early analysis of data from ongoing Phase Three clinical trial has shown that the vaccine they have been developing was 90 per cent effective. It’s is not yet time to celebrate. Pfizer and BioNTech have warned that the unexpectedly high rate of effectiveness still needs to be confirmed in larger numbers, and over time.
As if involved in an “arms race,” laboratories around the world are in a race to produce a Covid-19 vaccine. According to WHO, there are some 202 vaccine candidates, 47 of which are in human trials. It’s not time to lower our guard.
