Kenyan Athletics coach now demands foreigners to be banned

By Fred Maingi in Nairobi

Athletics Coach Kirwa.Picture Courtesy

The Government and Athletics Kenya (AK) have been asked to put in
place measures of restricting foreign athletes training in Kenya.

Team Kenya athletics head coach Julius Kirwa said this will protect the
country’s runners from learning Kenya’s tactics.

Kirwa said some of the gold medals Kenyas lost were clinched by
athletes who have been training in Kenya ahead of the olympics.

“Some of the foreign athletes are now catching up with us  that they
were now beating Kenyans in their own specialities,” said Kirwa.
   

 He said Kenya was at a threat of losing ground as athletes from other
countries were giving the country in some of the event’s it was
dominating a run for its money because of their accessibility to Kenya’s
training skills.

“We should protect our own by restricting others from invading our
territory by being strict on entry rules,” he said.

He questioned the rationale of allowing foreigners to train in Kenya,
citing double Olympic champion Britain’s Mo Farah, Olympic marathon
winner  Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich and Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi,
who won the 1,500m.

Others are Farah’s training partner USA’s Galen Rupp who  finished
just a few steps back to take silver, the first medal in the event for
the U.S. since Billy Mills’ victory in Rome 52 years ago.

Turkey's Asli Cakir and Gamze Bulut who won for the  first ever
athletics Olympic gold for Turkey and silver respectively in the
women’s 1,500m respectively  have also been pitching their training in
Kenya.

Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro who also trains in Kenya won a double in the
2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India by securing medals in 10,000m
and 5,000m which Kenya is better than its east African neighbour.