Former world 800m champion Janeth Jepkosgei has issued a warning to Kenya not to expect it easy in athletics given the efforts rivals are putting in to end their dominance.
Former world 800m champion Janeth Jepkosgei has warned Kenya against resting on their laurels in athletics as their dominance is under heavy threat from rival countries.
Jepkosgei, who is now a World Athletics-accredited coach, says the days when Kenya was dominating most races are gone as rivals have upped their game in terms of how they prepare with technology among the things they have embraced to boost their performances.
However, Kenya still lags behind when it comes to preparations, and are relying on old methods of training which the 40-year-old feels will prove costly in the end.
17:37 - 06.11.2024
Janeth Jepkosgei opens up on why she came close to ditching Kenya for Bahrain
Former world 800m champion Janeth Jepkosgei has revealed the reasons that almost made her change nationalities from Kenya to Bahrain.
“There is a lot of competition coming in and I also manage a small group of athletes coming from Europe. In April, I was in South Africa and I was with athletes from the UK training there and I saw what they were doing and the world is getting ready,” Jepkosgei told NTV’s Spot On.
“Everyone is getting ready and we should not forget that as Kenyans and think that athletics is ours, it is no longer ours. We need to change our minds and change everything.”
Jepkosgei cited the example of the women’s 800m where world champion Mary Moraa is facing stiff competition from Ethiopian Tsigne Duguma, Briton Keely Hodgkinson as well as American Athing Mu.
23:30 - 05.08.2024
Paris Olympics 2024: Mary Moraa settles for Bronze in women's 800m final as Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson reigns supreme
Mary Moraa was forced to seal the podium in the tight women's 800m final, finishing third behind Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson and Ethiopia's Tsige Duguma.
Hodgkinson and Duguma beat Moraa at the Paris 2024 Olympics, when they claimed gold and silver respectively, while the Kenyan could only manage bronze.
Jepkosgei says that is enough proof that Kenyans need to up their game or risk ending up empty handed in the near future.
“Everyone is training and [Mary] Moraa is a big athlete, she has the talent, she has grown from youth to the senior level and she still has a long way. I expect her to run more than five years on track but now, there is the Ethiopian coming in and in Paris [Olympics] I saw it,” she added.
08:36 - 28.09.2024
Mary Moraa reacts to second-place finish at Alexis Ohanian's Athlos NYC event
Mary Moraa has reacted to her second-place finish in the 800m at the Athlos NYC event while congratulating winner Tsige Duguma.
“I even told Kenyan coaches; ‘don’t rule out this girl [Duguma] because she is a real talent and can surprise us’. We don’t need to just celebrate but we should prepare ourselves.”