Kenya’s head athletics coach Julius Kirwa has said fatigue hampered the country’s medal prospects at the Budapest 2023 World Championships.
In an exclusive interview on Thursday, the seasoned gaffer advised Kenyan track stars to reduce the number of events they compete in to avoid exhaustion.
He attributed the country’s limited presence at the podium to athletes’ crammed schedules which drained their energy.
The East African nation wrapped up fifth in the competition after bagging three gold, three silver, and four bronze.
Multiple world champion Faith Kipyegon was the toast for Kenya after blazing to two gold medals in the women’s 1500m and 5000m.
High-flying 800m prodigy Mary Moraa secured the third gold for the country in the two-lap race.
“Our athletes should consider reducing the number of competitions they participate in every year,” Kirwa said.
“A good example is Omanyala who got himself overworked before the World Championships after participating in many meets. He ended up losing to people he had previously beaten in the Diamond League because of fatigue,” he added.
The Kenyan sprints sensation left the nation devastated after fizzling out to a shock and disappointing seventh-place finish in the fiercely contested finals at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest.
Kirwa said the country’s marathoners would have performed better if they had converged for preparations early enough.
He said efforts to get the marathoners to camp in good time were thwarted by obstinate managers who were reluctant to release the athletes for the World Championships.
“AK sent early invitations to all the marathoners who had initially been selected to fly Kenya’s flag in Budapest but it took a lot of time and persuasion before their managers finally responded,” Kirwa remarked.
“We invited about 30 marathoners but many declined. We sat down three times to make the necessary adjustments. At the end of it all, it proved too late in the day to train the athletes who eventually agreed to travel with us to Budapest.”
Kirwa emphasized the need for early preparations ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, saying he and the rest of the coaching unit had embarked on an early and earnest selection process.
“I have already identified athletes in each category. We already have about 80-90 in number.”
The seasoned tactician revealed that they are planning to meet in the coming weeks to harmonise the selection criterion and the training schedule.
“We shall meet to decide where we will train and how many athletes we shall include in the process,” Kirwa stated.
“We have expressed our desires to Athletics Kenya and they are willing to work with our suggestions. AK will then convey our requests to NOC-K for implementation.”
