Kipchoge: Open up sports camps, we shall follow health guidelines

By Philip Onyango

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge Thursday night declared he wanted to do something special at the rescheduled London Marathon.

Kipchoge, also the Olympic marathon champion, said his training has been going well and appealed to Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed to open up sports and allow athletes back into training camps.

The London Marathon was initially scheduled for April 26 but was rescheduled to October 4 with the Kenyan government ordering a stop to sports activities owing to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

Last week, Amina appointed an 18-strong task force -- led by Sports Chief Administrative secretary Hassan Noor Hassan -- to look into protocols necessary to open up sports. The committee was scheduled to hand over their report to the CS on Friday, but have requested for more time and will present the report on Monday.

Kipchoge was speaking on NTV's Nation Leadership Forum programme where he was on the panel alongside Amina, Kenya Ports Authority's General Manager (HR and Administration) Daniel Ogutu and USA-based former Kenyan basketball international Peter Kiganya.

"My preparations (for the London Marathon) have been going on well... I'm waiting for the CS to allow us to go back to our camps," Kipchoge said.

"I'm looking forward to showing the world that even with Covid-19, we can run well," Kipchoge told the show moderated by NTV's sports anchor Idah Waringa.

CS Amina said the government is in talks with the European Union to allow Kenyan athletes gain entry into Schengen states ahead of resumption of the Diamond League.

Speaking from Mombasa, Ogutu said Kenya Ports Authority had put together their sports policy and are reaching out to players in the maritime industry to support their sports programmes.

Speaking from Texas, USA, Kiganya appealed to the Kenyan government to consider placing national team players on contracts funded by the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.

This article was originally published by Daily Nation. [Photo: Herbert Neubauer/AFP/Getty Images