- 18 minutes ago
Kenya is home to champions like Eliud Kipchoge. But behind the medals lies a deeper story of ambition, opportunity, and struggle. We explore the people, challenges, and forces shaping the future of Kenyan sport.
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00:04they thought he was past his prime but he just keeps doing the unthinkable how does a man who
00:10has already conquered the sport find the grit to shatter yet another record elliot kipchoge he has
00:18definitely done it again the guy is always up to something and even after a few years without
00:22winning a marathon he is back at the top elliot kipchoge has just made history again and he's
00:30not slowing down the kenyan running legend has won the melbourne marathon in australia
00:34setting a new course record of two hours nine minutes and ten seconds that is 17th career
00:41marathon victory and he's still competing with a younger generation of runners but kipchoge is no
00:47ordinary athlete he's a two-time olympic marathon champion and in 2019 he became the first person
00:52to run a marathon in under two hours under specifically arranged conditions now he's
00:58chasing another goal running marathons on all seven continents including antarctica while raising money
01:04for charity and he says his body is still picking so he's happy to run with the gen z's so
01:10let's settle
01:10this here is a little kipchoge the greatest marathon runner of all time great questions great great
01:17question well talent can win you all the medals but what does it take to become successful
01:22in sports that's exactly what we are trying to answer today is it just physical strength a
01:28support system or a much more complex undertaking so welcome to the show my name is fati elika muloshi
01:34and i am rachel nduati
01:41you know like when i was watching that reel i remembered there was a kenyan song that was sung
01:46in favor of kipchoge just praising how i think he deserves it honestly just praising how this guy is
01:53like it goes like kipchoge keep joking and i used to wonder like how is this guy like doing all
02:01of it
02:02but still managing to stay so humble and he goes by a very good philosophy saying that no human is
02:07limited
02:07no matter like how old you are or how much you've gone through it you can still strive to be
02:12at the top
02:13i mean we see it here he's back after not winning a marathon in three years and he's right there
02:18at
02:18the top and he also says that he's happy competing with the gen z that also goes to show the
02:23kind of
02:24mentality he has i mean he's got the experience but he's got the discipline and the determination to
02:29keep pushing regardless and i think that is really something that the young generation should also learn
02:35yeah let's dive a little bit more into the world of elliot of course being an athlete is not easy
02:41so let's go to kenya now where we caught up with him a while back to hear what drives his
02:46athletic
02:47success and how he has managed to overcome the obstacles i have been surrounded for the 18 years
02:54for the last 18 years with the posty people particularly in sport and outside the sport so i think
03:01i'm a lucky one i've been actually following the right values and having a value actually myself
03:10which i call which i can't live without it i have things which i can die with those things
03:16what are these values that you say you know they're so important to you that you actually can't
03:21live without them the value actually of integrity in sport what i mean by integrity is courage to go to
03:28the next mile courage to face anything in your in your life the value of the family the value of
03:35self-discipline the value of consistency so i can live without without those values then there is no
03:41value the first point is trusting myself or treating myself as the best one living an honest life
03:51those are three points which which he told me when i when i was still young wow he is wise
03:59i am lost
04:00with words it's just the awe that we all have of elu kipchoge and we do know like you said
04:04this you
04:05know it's been three years since he won something but the self-discipline that elude has and you can
04:09definitely see even like when edith asks him this tough questions like what drives you what is it that
04:15you know you have sort of uh what makes you successful and i was even like looking at what
04:20elude eats in one day like a day in the life of what elude eats very self-disciplined diet you
04:26know
04:26very three liters of water fat three liters of water yes because it means that he takes himself that
04:35seriously in the sense that he knows how much the sport is demanding so yeah i mean what i see
04:41here
04:42is the fact that there is the individual drive and willingness but that's all nothing without a
04:47good support system and you know there's the coach that is making sure that physically he's fit but
04:52also prepared mentally because you need that mental resilience in something as demanding as sports but
04:57in life in general but as a professional i would imagine that he would not want to be surrounded
05:02by people who do not push him to be the best version of himself because that's the only way to
05:07have a
05:07winning mentality yeah let's look at another female athlete who is beating the odds and made her
05:13first debut at the berlin marathon
05:18alice chevy she will be making her debut today she will be making her debut today
05:21in the field kwamba neither kutana world champion and i guess emma that's a mini in kienda sasa
05:27and stay away kimbiana our champion signifika to go into it with us as a villain
05:38alice
05:50so
05:51So, I'm so excited to see my family.
05:56And when you come to the park, you can come here?
05:59Yes, I can come here, but I can come here.
06:02Sometimes, I can come here.
06:04I'm not going to go to the park last time.
06:09I've been working with my family.
06:11I've been working with my children.
06:13I've been working with my children.
06:14I've been working with my family.
06:22I've been working with my family.
06:27Yeah, Alice Cheby, I see you were there.
06:30Yeah, I was there.
06:31It must have been a good experience.
06:31I was there, was shouting for her because, of course,
06:34I was trying to also, you know, shout for my people.
06:37And I was so happy to see Alice, you know, coming from Kenya,
06:40from Itain and running at an international league with the big leagues.
06:43But, of course, we'll come back to Alice's story later.
06:46But, you know, the journey does not end at getting an international sport.
06:50And we do know that local systems need to provide the resources
06:54and support needed to keep progressing.
06:56Kenya, of course, is a country known for its great athleticism.
07:01And the sports industry is not only complex, but also it's also successful.
07:06Let's have a look at this.
07:09When you think of sports in Kenya, what is it that comes to mind?
07:16Running, right?
07:17And honestly, it's hard to argue with that.
07:20Kenya has produced one of the finest long-distance marathon runners in the world.
07:24But running is only part of the story.
07:27There's other sports that are doing well, too.
07:29And that is rugby.
07:31Kenya is a successful and competitive rugby nation.
07:33And it comes second after South Africa in terms of rugby.
07:37The national team, Shujaz, reached the World Cup semis in 2009 in Dubai.
07:43And they even won the Singapore Sevens title in 2016.
07:47And that success isn't just about talent.
07:49It's about structure, hard work, and coaching that helps these young players become successful.
07:55Then there's football.
07:57Here, Kenya's sporting story becomes a little bit uncomfortable.
08:00And this is because the country has not had popularity locally.
08:05Because Kenyan fans tend to follow international successes more.
08:10The English Premier League and the Bundesliga have massive following in Kenya.
08:14And Kenyan fans tend to follow FC Bayern Munich and the Manchester United teams.
08:19Because they're sort of very successful.
08:21So you have millions of people supporting international leagues, but not enough people feeling their stadiums at home.
08:27That can make it very hard for domestic clubs to attract investments at home.
08:32Despite the challenges, Kenya's sports industry continues to evolve.
08:36It creates employment for the young people, is a source of national pride, and continues to attract more investments.
08:44There you go again, Madam Rachel.
08:46Yeah, it feels like today I'm representing my country.
08:49But yeah, this is about Kenya, right?
08:51And I was surprised to find out that Kenya is really thriving in rugby.
08:56Because I always thought South Africa is that African country.
08:59I need to tell you now.
09:00I need to tell you.
09:01We are really good at rugby.
09:03And guess what it takes for rugby servants to also be successful?
09:06Tell me.
09:07Running.
09:07It still involves running.
09:08Oh, so there's some form of athletes.
09:09Yes.
09:10So that's why you find that there's so much happening there.
09:14And it's so, so successful.
09:15But now I think what is happening in East Africa or in Kenya means that something is probably shifting.
09:22Because they're even building a whole sports city called Talanta Sports towards the AFCON.
09:27That's also another story.
09:28How is that coming along?
09:28A, it's now being developed to ensure that, you know, Kenyans have a very good sustainable landscape when it comes
09:35to athleticism.
09:36And it's mostly focusing on these other types of athleticism, not just running, but also like football.
09:42Because previously we've always just focused on, you know, running and, you know, sprinting.
09:47But now it's football, rugby and all other motorsports.
09:50But it's also sad because, you know, some of the sports that we also have, we also have tennis and
09:55golf, but they don't necessarily translate into popularity in the international state.
09:59I don't know why it's that.
10:01Something is happening there.
10:01I mean, yeah, countries have had to prioritize.
10:04But let's see really how all of this development is also trickling down to the athletes themselves.
10:09We have here a professional athlete, Ferdinand, who spoke to Edith during a street debate held on a topic in
10:16Kenya.
10:16Let's take a look.
10:18What is it like to be a professional athlete in this country?
10:22It's a bit tough because basically we've not professionalized sports in the country.
10:28And going against countries that have taken this seriously, it's a bit of a challenge.
10:32But, you know, on the other side, I say use what you have to get what you can.
10:35I mean, and that's what I did.
10:37If I could have put my mind into such situations, I wouldn't be here.
10:40And I'm glad that I managed to be that person who changes that notion and be the person who changes
10:47the minds of people, not just in sports, but even in different professions that you can get whatever you want
10:52and get to the limits and the heights that you want to get to.
10:56Yeah, that what Ferdinand is saying, I actually very much resonate with because I was reading an article by an
11:02Italian coach who is now coaching in Kenya and who was saying one thing that Kenyans don't do is that
11:07Kenyans don't complain.
11:08They work with what they have. They don't say unlike other, you know, international athletes who say, yeah, I don't
11:13have the infrastructure.
11:14Kenyans don't necessarily look at the infrastructure, but they look at, you know, what do I do?
11:19I have shoes that I'm going to run. Do I have like, you know, some sort of backing?
11:23Exactly. So I think that's also a good landscape for most Kenyans.
11:27Yeah. And we've also seen, especially when it comes to sports, how many young people go into it out of
11:32sheer passion without necessarily having a clear understanding of what a professional pathway could look like.
11:39And it is because, you know, the systems are usually not in place to ensure that that happens.
11:43So let's see if talent and passion are enough. What does it take to get to the level of Elliot
11:50and the likes of Alice? Let's meet a new face in the very fresh sport.
11:57Roll ball is a combination of basketball, handball and roller skating.
12:03My name is Satya Veronica. I'm a roll ball player. I do skating for fun and I play roll ball
12:10professionally.
12:11I started playing tennis back in St. Cecilia Misihu and I was quite good in the sport.
12:16I managed to represent Kenya in the East African Championships in Arusha in Tanzania.
12:23Because it's next to tennis in Jekuat, it caught my eye. I've already learned how to skate. Why not try
12:29this sport?
12:30And I actually became so good in the sport. I think it's just probably talent or let's say training because
12:38I used to train a lot.
12:40Up to around midnight. So I became so good in the sport and by the time I was in Thaddea,
12:46I was already in the national team.
12:48And I was so happy to be part of the contributing a lot for the team because the game of
12:53the semifinals are the one who scored the two goals that led us to the finals.
12:58And it was a comeback because we were already losing that match 1-0 to Portland.
13:03It was a very nice experience and then it was a chance for the coaches to trust in me and
13:09to put me actually in the next World Cup.
13:14I thought national team is all about you have worked hard. So you are going to zip your harvest at
13:20the national team.
13:22When you become an elite player, you actually realize how bad our systems are.
13:28We are a good team. You guys have already frustrated us. So we are just going to show you what
13:34you are capable of.
13:39I mean, roll ball looks like a fascinating sport. I did not even know such a sport existed.
13:45I was going to say that, honestly. But I think in general, when we look at sports in Africa and
13:49how these different disciplines are all coming together, people are trying to diversify.
13:54It's interesting to see. But when you look at rankings, South Africa is really at the top in Africa.
13:59I mean, they are actually top five in the world because of the way they are advancing in various kinds
14:04of sports.
14:05I mean, when it comes to running, of course, Kenya is there.
14:08And football, you're looking at the countries in the north, Egypt, Morocco.
14:12I mean, Senegal is doing well now.
14:16Nigeria was actually doing very well at some point, too.
14:20But roll ball, I'm also learning about that now.
14:22Maybe that also explains why they are not really getting the attention that they need.
14:26But I also saw in that report that it's also women who are participating in this particular, you know, sport.
14:34And I feel like when it comes to sport, there seems to be a gender imbalance because men are given
14:39more and women are given less.
14:41And it feels like men are given, you know, more when it comes to capacity building, when they need the
14:46money.
14:46Or sports that are men-centered.
14:48Yeah, but women are most vulnerable when it comes to sports and the number of people who face harassment and
14:53the things that women have to do simply to just get this money.
14:57It feels like it's kind of a bit of a mismatch.
14:59And I'm questioning really, why does it have to hurt to get the bare minimum?
15:04It shouldn't be so.
15:05No, it should not be so.
15:07So, talent can still thrive when individuals are committed, but can less popular sporting disciplines like roll ball say the
15:15same thing?
15:15How is Kenya diversifying sports for young people right now?
15:19When they give us the budget or they give the sports ministry the budget, it will go to the popular
15:24sports, more or less.
15:25Like, Athletics Kenya won't go to start really knocking and trying to pursue.
15:30They will have their calendar of events.
15:31It's already ready for them.
15:33It's easy to justify.
15:34They are given football as well.
15:36But I look at somebody like Veronica, roll ball there.
15:39Every so often they will go camp at the ministry to try to justify why.
15:43Please pause.
15:44Yeah.
15:44Veronica, tell us about how you had to camp at the ministry.
15:47So the World Cup has already started here.
15:49And there is no feedback from the government if they are going to find us to go to the World
15:54Cup or not here.
15:55So the first day has passed, the second day.
15:57The third day, we were like, yo, why don't us, the players, go to the Ministry of Sports?
16:02We sit there and we wait for the Ministry of Sports to get out of the office and tell us
16:07what's up.
16:08And it was only then that your tickets were paid for?
16:10Yes.
16:11Okay.
16:11Ferdinand, has this happened to you as well?
16:14Yeah, just recently.
16:15We went...
16:16Recently?
16:17Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:18It's a sad set of affairs.
16:19So when you ask, like, you have to get a job to fund your career.
16:24But then at the end of the day, you look at it and you're like,
16:26even if I make it to the Olympics team, how much am I going to spread up money across four
16:30years?
16:31Sometimes the money can come to the Federation.
16:33Then there is mismanagement of the money, misappropriation, misdirection of the money.
16:38Maybe it was for this particular assignment, for these particular games, these particular competitions.
16:43Then it's directed somewhere else.
16:45Then there is the corruption as well because our federations are prone to that.
16:48So when it comes to that point, the athlete is wondering, the only way that I can feed my family,
16:53the only way I can sustain myself,
16:55sometimes because of maybe lack of the discipline that comes with you, the accountability of being an athlete,
17:01you end up getting into doping, I mean, not doping scandals, into betting scandals, into those fishy fishy kind of
17:07scandals.
17:08And at the end of the day, it's because you're trying to make ends meet.
17:12I'm not justifying the action, but it's because something somewhere in the Federation or in the trickling of the money
17:17has been misdirected or mismanaged.
17:19So for a country who has such a huge asset in sports, why not have regulations?
17:26I think because we're a reactive nation.
17:28And this happened because we were pushed to the edge.
17:31It has taken us 10 years, 10 years to be on our watch list every time because Kenya has a
17:36surplus of talent.
17:38We have so many people that monitoring them and especially individual games or individual sports like athletics.
17:45Sometimes it becomes a problem.
17:47Yeah, indeed.
17:48That was our street debate, which we will also show you a bit more.
17:52But I was thinking how we sort of like in the African continent try to deal with athletes.
17:58And sometimes I feel like athletes are not treated like employees.
18:01They're treated as a separate entity.
18:03And maybe this could be the problem because then the athlete is not protected when it comes to, you know,
18:08giving them the capacity or rather like the resources that they need.
18:12Yeah.
18:12I think the leaders are aware of the potential that the sporting sector has because clearly we can see that
18:17the talent is enormous and the drive is there.
18:20But when it comes to the institutions doing the needful to ensure that this is very much formalized and what
18:26is supposed to be done is done, there is clearly a problem.
18:30So what happens is talent is wasted.
18:32Sometimes they even perish in the Mediterranean because they want to go elsewhere to make sure that they get the
18:37support that is needed.
18:38Right now, Uganda or Rwanda, actually, is poised on bringing back Formula One to Africa.
18:45Yeah, I actually saw that.
18:46And they're set to really sign a 10 year agreement to make that happen.
18:50But who is participating in Formula One?
18:53I mean, yeah, you know, the whole technical, you know, organizing and what goes in the back end.
18:58That's a conversation for another day.
18:59But also the thing that I'm trying to bring to you and to notice is, you know, all these laws,
19:04they're sort of like made by the people who are not sort of affected.
19:07So, like, for example, in Kenya, there's the Sports Act, right?
19:11Who do you think wrote the Sports Act?
19:13It's not the athletes themselves.
19:15And so you find that there's a disconnect between the laws that are being made and the people who are
19:20making the laws and the form of like regular, regularization of the thing.
19:26Yeah, it is always about co-creation and making sure that institutions are working in synergy with athletes, by the
19:33athletes, because it is for the athletes at the end of the day.
19:36So whether they are having representatives, you know, sometimes they have their own, you know, organizing bodies or federations that
19:42represent them.
19:43The question is whether those federations are also working in line with athletes.
19:47So that's why they don't want to go into those technicalities.
19:49So there's always a lot happening in the back end.
19:51But what I'm saying is we have to be adventurous.
19:54We don't have to limit ourselves.
19:55We have to open up because at the end of the day, the talent is there.
19:59What we need is trust and investment.
20:01And the young people have been saying that over and again.
20:04Yeah.
20:05I mean, yeah, for sure, for sure, for sure.
20:07But also we can see how the athletes are even taking it into their own hands and going in for
20:12international partnerships, you know.
20:14But at the end of the day, we did say, like we were talking the other day, that it's important
20:17that these partnerships are also built on mutual interest.
20:20Yes, for sure.
20:21Yeah.
20:22And you've got someone like Alice.
20:24And for our audience, Alice was somebody like we saw in Kenya and we did a story on her.
20:30We did a documentary on Alice and she was actually tackling gender based violence and she saw a way out
20:37through, you know, athleticism.
20:39And she she became a very big, big, successful name.
20:42And she was actually discovered by people who were organizing here in the Berlin Marathon.
20:46And we decided, you know what, let's follow Alice.
20:50Sorry, I almost said athlete again.
20:52But let's follow Alice and see, you know, what Alice is up to.
20:55And she has a very incredible story as a mother, you know, trying to make ends meet.
21:00And at the same time, you know, being a successful athlete.
21:03Let's have a look.
21:04Hey, I feel like I'm going to be a world champion.
21:08What did you do, Davey?
21:09So, I'm going to keep up, I'm going to play, I'm going to play a race.
21:13Because I'm going to play a game, I'm going to play a game, I'm going to play a race and
21:20I'm going to play a world champion.
21:22Yes, indeed.
21:25What happened was your experience?
21:29I was there in the past few weeks, because people are here and they feel like they are here.
21:37They feel like they are here, they have a lot of children.
21:44They are here thinking about how they feel like they are here, and they feel like they are here in
21:50Kenya.
21:50How did you feel like this?
22:04From me to you, the 77% is out there.
22:09I mean, Alice Cheby, there's a lot to learn in her story.
22:13And the fact that she was able to come all the way to Berlin to take part in the marathon.
22:17I think, yeah, it's really important to grab those international opportunities.
22:21Yeah, and if you look at her story, like particularly, she is very inspiring because she decided, you know, she
22:26wants to come here and learn and get all the skills she wants.
22:29And also, like, just continue running back home.
22:31That's rarely the case because athletes, most athletes want a way out, you know, they want a way out of
22:36their countries.
22:37And does that then mean that international success equals, you know, being a successful athlete?
22:42Yeah. And how did she get the opportunity to come here?
22:45So apparently from our documentary, she managed to, like, get a big sponsor deal.
22:50I don't want to say the brand, but, like, she was sponsored to come here and run here with the
22:53big leagues.
22:54So you see, the visibility is very important for the athletes.
22:57Yeah. And also, you know, sports is also not easy, especially in Kenya, because the budget allocation is simply never
23:03not enough.
23:04So let's head back to that three debate again and see how Kenyans or what Kenyans rather are doing as
23:09a way forward, regardless of the challenges and lack of resources.
23:13Yeah, there are over 140 federations that have registered with the sports registrar in Kenya.
23:19And therefore, if each and every federation came forward and looking for support, an example of what has been given
23:26to maybe football and athletics,
23:29then you'll be sure that our budget for sports should be equaling what budget is going to roads, what is
23:36going to health.
23:37We need to think outside the box. We need to package our sports in a way that it shows the
23:42return of investment so that we are able to bring in, like, the corporates.
23:47We have banks that want to venture into sports. We have different kind of corporates that will want to venture
23:52into sports.
23:52Corporate companies or sporting companies that may come to support the sports.
23:56And if they check the books that are not right, they will pull out. But if we keep our books
24:01right, audits is right, I know companies will come in, corporates will come in to support the sports.
24:07We can count on the government to do everything for us, some of the things we have to do for
24:11ourselves. And then whatever comes from them is a supplement.
24:15I mean, what we hear is very clear. It's very clear that people just want better accountability and transparency.
24:22Because at the end of the day, the opportunities are there, but people will also not invest if they are
24:27not very clear on, you know, the stakes.
24:30If they are not really getting a very, you know, solid structure to invest in, then clearly the investment will
24:35not come.
24:35Education is very important, but the athletes need the support. The state is the primary duty bearer.
24:42You know, so the state should give people the opportunities to excel in their respective fields.
24:46Yeah, for sure. And I think that we also sort of need to get out of this culture of depending
24:51on prizes and local leagues, because I know that prize dependency is a very big thing in local leagues.
24:56I don't know how it is like in West Africa, but for example, in Kenya, you see that athletes are
25:00mainly just, you know, motivated by the prize money that they get.
25:05But this money is definitely not sustainable.
25:07The bonuses are not enough.
25:08It's really not enough.
25:09And that is why the brand deals are important. That is why the partnership is important. The investment is important.
25:13So we did say that talent is very crucial, but it's clearly not enough to get you what you want.
25:19Yeah, but sadly, hey, we have to put this to you.
25:23What is that one thing that African sports need to help talented athletes build careers they can actually live from?
25:31Is it better funding? Is it stronger institutions, more opportunities or something else entirely?
25:38Well, comment below. Let's continue the conversation as always.
25:42It's been great talking to you on this very important topic, but we will see you another time.
25:47My name is Fatih Elika Miloshi.
25:49And I am Rachel Ndwati. Until next time.
25:52Bye-bye.
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