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Paul Tergat Speaks Out Against New Proposed Licenses for Athletes in Kenya

Posted January 7th, 2007 at 6:06 PM by Kathryn Magro

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country, Track & Field

Athletics Kenya (AK) has introduced an initiative to issue licenses to all athletes has been met with variable reactions.

Paul Tergat, a Kenyan runner and World Marathon record holder, is amongst those opposed to the planned registrations.

“It does not happen anywhere in the world and I wonder why we should allow it to happen here,” said Tergat, who has also accused the AK of sinister motives for the proposal.

“Athletes are not criminals to be taken through such bureaucratic processes.”

The AK’s secretary-general, David Okeyo, released a statement on Dec. 31 saying that the association’s goal is to have all athletes registered before the established deadline in March. He said that the AK’s purpose for the registrations is to control participation in international meetings. This will include preventing Kenyan athletes from sneaking out of the country for competitive events without the AK’s permission.

In the past — a time Tergat refers to as “dark days” — athletes’ passports were held until the day of competition. Fearing that Kenya will soon return to this, he claims that his driver’s license, identity card, passport and pin number should be all that’s required to be identified as an athlete.

Since the AK is not a statutory body, many Kenyans claim that it has overstepped its boundaries. According to these people, the AK is an association with many members who should, in turn, be able to approve ideas before decisions are made.

“We are here and can be consulted on such crucial matters,” said Tergat. “People should not just wake up and impose decisions on us.”

The AK has not only established athlete licensing, evoking worry in Kenyans, but has also put guidelines in place concerning road races; rules that Tergat claims are equally unfair. As a runner who discovered his talent through road racing, he aims to help other youth do the same.

Tergat has imposed a challenge to the AK to lead by example and set up its own facilities for the untapped youth talent in Kenya. With these more important issues in clear view—not to mention the World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa coming up—he is wondering why the AK’s attentions are focused on “trivialities.”