“Sprint talent flourishes in Kenya, all what we need as athletes in this specialty is the much-needed support from relevant authorities,” emphasized the National champion Were.
Were bowed out of the 2023 World Championships head high when he came sixth in the 400m hurdles semifinal at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary.
Were, who ran in Heat 2 clocked 49.40 seconds to settle for sixth in the tough race that featured the cream of the world’s best.
Granted, losing a final slot in a race that featured the second fastest man in history and eventual semis winner Rai Benjamin of the United States who timed 47.24 seconds was huge by Kenyan standards.
Benjamin was followed closely by Olympic bronze medalist and world champion Allison Dos Santos who stopped the clock after 47.38 seconds much to his credit.
In a post-race interview, Were demonstrated how much needs to be executed if Kenya has any hopes to rekindle its lost glory.
Were quipped: “Sprint talent abounds in Kenya, all we need is your support.”
-Self-support-
Were claims he supported himself all through the qualifying campaign where he even went the extra mile to raise money to go to South Africa for a monthlong high-performance training.
“From what I have gathered in Hungary is that athletes from other countries are fully supported by their government through and through, its painful that we Kenyans survive on mere hand-outs in our preparation phase,” Were, who finished fourth at the 2021 Commonwealth Games told Capital Sport.
“Fans would like to see us perform, yes that’s natural, and I agree with them in totality, but they’ll continue ranting on about our downside not knowing what we go through in a daily basis. It’s tough.”
“For me, I thank God because I am convinced that my journey to the summit will be a step-by-step affair. I went to Commonwealth Games and got a medal. I have come to complete at the world championships and bowed out at penultimate stage.”
“I want to assure our critics before the end of the year I will qualify for Olympics. Look at me now! I have an under 50 seconds and someone who is doing a 50 seconds is being sponsored fully to explore the best training facilities across the globe, what to do?”
“But then again, for us it’s a passion! We do it for the love of the game. I spend time trying to convince friends and well-wishers: and sometimes I end up with a flight ticket with no accommodation,” Were added.
-Suffering in silence-
Were exposed the terrible facet Kenyan sprinters have to contend with time and time again, which the public hardly gets to know about.
The hurdler is disillusioned that those in charge know exactly what should be done but are not doing it, “I mean, they should just style up.”
By and large, Were is contented with his Budapest performance and that it’s definitely a sign of better things to come.
“I’m happy because I had no hiccups in semis, no disturbances of missing a step or staggering; I was really trying to run under 50 seconds and being my first world championships, I managed to clear the hurdles effectively well.”
Were is calling on supporters and well-wishers to come forward and support them to build capacity.
“You can’t compare Kenyan sprinters and those from other countries; there is a lot which needs to be done by our authorities. With support hopefully we can get more sprinters join the sport . Omanyala, is a trailblazer who has inspired countless other Kenyans to embrace sprints.
