Kenyans and Ethiopians dominated the distance races at the last World Athletics Final at the weekend but Africans fear they are in danger of becoming irrelevant in the sport despite the depth of their talent.Changes to the athletics calendar, which the sport’s world ruling body, International Association of Athletics Federations, says will make the sport more attractive, have not been well received in Africa.
Under the new plan, the World Cross Country Championships are being turned from an annual event into a biennial one. Television sponsors had lost interest in the event because it was always won by Kenyan or Ethiopian runners, IAAF president Lamine Diack said.
“The World Cross Country championships have become not only an African affair but an East African affair, and these days you don’t even get athletes from West Africa competing,” Diack told Kenya’s Daily Nation last month.
The senior men’s team races at the championships have been won by Ethiopia or Kenya every year since 1981. On the women’s side, only Portugal, in 1994, have interrupted an African run of victories going back 18 years.
Former champion Paul Tergat said the decision was unfair. “This is contrary to the universal appeal of sport as a unifying factor, as a forum for athletes from all over the whole world to showcase their talent, regardless of race, religion or status,” the 40-year-old Kenyan, who won the men’s senior title between 1985 and 1989, said.
“Giving such a reason for making such an unpopular decision is not fair to African athletes whose only fault is to work hard to win those titles. That is killing the spirit of sport.”
Diamond League
The World Athletics Finals – held last weekend over two days in the Greek city of Thessaloniki – are being replaced under a new format that has created a Diamond League to be held in Asia, Europe and the United States. Africa will not host any events.
Thessaloniki was a triumph for African runners, who won every distance event. Of the 12 qualifiers in the men’s 5,000 metres final, nine were Kenyans and three, including winner Imane Merga, were from Ethiopia. Next year, the series finals will be split over two weekends with the events contested in Zurich and Brussels.
The World Cup, a competition between continents, has been redesigned to merge Asia with Oceania as one team and North, Central and South America as another. Africa and Europe are the only continents which will compete independently.
READ ON...
ShareThis