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Kenyan Athletes Preparing for Commonwealth Games Threaten Protest, Paul Tergat Promises FixPublished by
Kenyan Athletes Threaten Protests Over Missed Payments and Lack of Training KitsBy Adam Kopet The athletes on the Kenyan Commonwealth Games team are threatening protests the day before the first group of athletes are scheduled to leave for Australia, according to Liam Morgan of Inside the Games. The cited problems by the Kenyan athletes are a lack of payments for time spent in Kenyan training camps and delayed and incomplete training and competition kits being provided by the Kenyan federation. Athletes are supposed to receive the equivalent of $25 per day for taking part in domestic training camps. However, no payments have been forthcoming yet. National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) president Paul Tergat is working to distribute kits to athletes as soon as they become available and Sports and Heritage Principal Secretary Rashid Echesa has promised payments will be paid into athlete's personal accounts by Friday. Tergat captured silver medals in the 10,000 meters at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. He also broke the world record for the marathon in Berlin in 2003. He became president of NOCK last year. This incident comes less than two years after arrests were made over corruption of NOCK officials with regards to the 2016 Kenyan Olympic team. Former vice chairman and deputy Chef de Mission Ben Ekumbo reportedly had large amounts of stolen kits in his home. Tergat cites some of these issues as still remaining from the former NOCK regime. He believes the issues will be resolved before athletes begin leaving for Australia. There are 132 Kenyan athletes scheduled to take part in next month's Commonwealth Games. More news |