Team Kenya captain Korir lauds increased dope testing

Kenya’s captain for Rio 2016 Olympic Games, marathoner Wesley Korir on Wednesday has welcomed increased drug testing saying that it will help clear the country’s name amid the doping storm facing the nation.

Athletes camping in Eldoret have been subjected to regular tests with samples set to be taken abroad as directed by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for Kenya’s competitors to be allowed to participate in the Brazil Summer Game.

Only 24 hours before, the Cherangany Member of Parliament and 2012 Boston Marathon winner got into a heated exchange with Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Dr. Hassan Wario over the treatment of the athletes by National Olympics Committee-Kenya (Nock) officials.

The legislator threatened to quit his role as skipper if their grievances are not addressed saying those who have no idea on the sport were running the rule over the athletes who are more informed on what they need to excel at the Olympics.

Korir posted on his Twitter handle he was confident a clean team will be sent to Rio after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said the Kenyan athletes would go through three testing regimes before being cleared to take their place in the Brazil games that run from August 12 to21.

“2 drug testing in two days! Wau!!I can now see us reaching our goal of sending a clean team to #Rio2016 @klocke1 @anti_dopingke @wada_ama,” the MP posted on the micro blogging site.

On Tuesday, an incensed Korir engaged Wario at a function to officially open the Dr. Kipchoge Keino High Altitude Training Center (HATC) complaining at the minister for keeping the athletes waiting for four hours.

The team’s Chef-de- Mission; Stephen Arap Soi was also not spared by the angry parliamentarian after being invited to speak last when he had a memorandum prepared by the athletes that he wanted presented to the officials at the gathering.

He further accused the National Olympics Committee-Kenya (Noc-k) of turning a deaf ear to the plight of athletes.

 

“I was selected as the overall captain for all teams, I had told the coach that I want to resign because we have been waiting for you we have been here since morning, we were told to come here as early as 8:30am.

“Some of us have not trained nor eaten. I had a meeting with the team and the raised some issues and gave me a list which I tore and threw away. Because when I told Soi that there are some issues athletes’ wanted to raise he did not sink in well with him,” he charged.

“I did not come here to be a spectator, I did not come here to be selected as the captain and be a spectator. If there are grievances that this (athletes) wants to be said give them a chance to say it.

“We are not prisoners, we have mouths and we have a right to be heard,” his extraordinary rant went on.

“Kindly next time if want us to say something and if you want us to perform and if you want this people to perform, have been an athlete for many years and have been interacting with them before and now have been put in the team and all the complains they have been complaining, I’m now experiencing them.

“As a leader I won’t shut up I shall speak up and if you and not willing to listen to us we shall get other ways to make you listen us because we have our voice too. So please listen to us listen to the grievances of this people and take them seriously if you want us to perform to the level best,” he added as his colleagues applauded him.

“The issues that you keep on hearing and watching on television. We had raised the matter a long time ago but nobody listened to us. We have become a nation of these know become slave of those who don’t know and that’s a big problem.  Its time you gave a chance to those who know to find solutions to our problems,” Korir who will compete in his first Olympics stated.

Tags:

olympics athletics doping NOCK team kenya Wesley Korir Rio 2016 Dr. Hassan Wario

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