Yego slams omission of coach from African Games

The 2015 World javelin champion Julius Yego has raised the red flag after his coach Joseph Koech Mosonik was left out of the coaches’ list for the African Games in Casablanca, Morocco.

Yego has warned the absence of Mosonik spells doom for him and other throwers and cited his own past dismal performances at competitions where he did not have a coach to watch over his back.

The former Commonwealth champion is in camp at the Moi International Sports Center Kasarani with Team Kenya and is making a came back to the field after a two year period struggling with a groin injury.

“Field events are so technical and without a coach who is showing you your mistakes as you go on you are bound to fail, for me I can be able to rectify myself but what about the other four field athletes,” Yego told Citizen Digital.

“It’s not fare even last time when we were going for the commonwealth games and African athletics championships in Nigeria, we were alone and you see the results were poor.” He added.

The African champion claims among the four throwers selected in team Kenya for the Casablanca field events duty, all rely on one coach, Mosonik.

“It only in 2015 and 2016 they gave me my coach where I won gold in Beijing worlds and silver at the Olympics, and the performance was high, throwing 92 and 98 meters respectively.”

Athletics Kenya named a team of coaches to foresee the team’s selection and drawing rules and relegations for athletes and officials during training camps and competitions ahead of the Games, which will be held from August 19 to 31 in Rabat, Morocco.

Julius Kirwa was put in charge of the middle and long distance races, Stephen Mwaniki, sprints while national shot put record holder Elizabeth Olaba to foresee field events.

Others are Benjamin Mbusya, race walk, Sauli Tabut, jumps and Dan Muchoki was picked as the technical co-coordinator.

“We don’t even know who is the coach when you ask we are told Mosonik is not in the team, when I won Gold in 2015 and the Egyptian (Ihab El-Sayed) took silver we were coached by one coach who was later named the Finish national coach see how they are doing nowadays,” Yego affirmed.

Kenya claimed 20 medals five gold, nine silver and six bronze from the last Africa Games held in Brazzaville, Congo.