Tergat urges Olympic-bound teams to step up

The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) President Paul Tergat has promised full support for Kenyan teams that have qualified for the coming Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The long distance running great has urged the Tokyo-bound squads to get in their best physical conditions after the Government relaxed its regulations on training and resumption of sports.

“By the time we are going to compete in Tokyo, we want to make sure that we don’t go to participate but to compete for the country and bring more medals for our nation,” Tergat said.

The 51-year-old stressed that team sport disciplines such as rugby and volleyball are very important to return to practice as soon as possible.

“These team sports need to pick up as soon as possible so that all of us can be up and running because they have already qualified. We can not say we are still trying to qualify, they have qualified and we want our teams to go and represent our country well,” he added.

Late last month, President Uhuru Kenyatta admitted the spate of doping cases among his country’s athletes is “troubling” as he called for the Sports Ministry to enhance its education to prevent further violations and Tergat has added his voice concerning the menace.

Tergat became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished long-distance runners of all time and Runnerworld called him the “Most comprehensive runner of all time”.

He set several world records and won many titles on the track, in cross country, and on the road.