Jeremy Awori, Absa Bank Kenya boss chats with athletics legend Kip Keino
For the second year in a row, Absa Bank Kenya is this year investing in KipKeino Classic as the lead sponsor of the prestigious World Athletics Continental Gold Tour Event with a Sh23 million package.Absa Bank Kenya Managing Director Jeremy Awori sat down with Kenyan athletics icon Dr. Kipchoge Keino, whom the tournament is named after, to walk down memory lane on his celebrated past, the present and future of the Kenyan athletics scene, his advice for Kenyan runners as well as thoughts on the Kip Keino Classic and beyond.
Jeremy: It’s indeed a great honour for this opportunity to discuss your legacy and thoughts on athletics. As a man who has achieved so many successes and a haul of medals, what stands out as your proudest moment?
Dr. Kipchoge: When I think about my career, I feel I have done the best for myself, my family, and my country. Running has given me a lot, including seeing other parts of the world and what other athletes are doing in similar spaces. It has also offered me an opportunity to mentor young athletes and also an opportunity to train with me. Even after retirement, most athletes camped in my house. I mentored them to go on and perform well, including the likes of Amb. Henry Rono, David Rudisha, Ben Kiptoo, Dr. Mike Boit and Federal Kimaiyo. As early as 6am, we would hit the road, and work on different aspects of running such as interval training, hill runs and speed work at high altitude areas.
Absa Bank Kenya Managing Director Jeremy Awori (right) with Athletics legend Dr Kipchoge Keino on April 22, 2022 during the interview, at Safari Park Hotel.
Jeremy: Dr. Kipkeino, you have touched on some important things, including opening up your home to bring people in, training and encouraging them to do better. In most cases, people often see the result but hardly appreciate what it takes to achieve results. What are some of the personal sacrifices you have made?
Dr. Kipchoge: I put in a lot of hard work in every event I was running in. Running requires a lot of stamina and speed as well as taking care of yourself physically and mentally. For every event, I prepared on all these aspects and that’s how I was able to achieve good results.
Jeremy: To achieve great success, one has got to have a level of mental toughness to face disappointments too. How much did that play a role in shaping your career?
Dr. Kipchoge: The kind of training you do is important. Training develops you mentally and physically. Speed, however, is key and that’s why interval training is important. You might not be a sprinter but you need to be fast, even in middle distance races.
Jeremy: What advice would you give for aspiring, up-and-coming athletes who want to achieve success but haven’t quite made it, or for those who have achieved success and want to sustain it?
Dr. Kipchoge: It’s crucial for both to keep improving the level of their mental and physical performances. Also, don’t work alone, work with others. Teammates help you with your movement or timing. Teamwork is really the most important thing.
From left: Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, America's Olympics 100m silver medallist Fred Kerley and Absa Bank Kenya Managing Director and CEO Jeremy Awori on May 6, 2022 at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.
Jeremy: How do you support one another seeing that the team is so important but you are running an individual race in some instances?
Dr. Kipchoge: Running is individual, but teamwork helps you gauge your speed across the different intervals, in say…300m, 100m or 400m. This gives you an impression of how good you are across various levels. Moreover, you push each other to perform better.
Jeremy: Kenya has a reputation for being a leading country in athletics, just as New Zealand is known for rugby and Brazil for football. What do you think we need, as a country, to stay competitive and sustain our position as an athletics powerhouse, given that countries across the region and globally are also producing great athletes?
Dr. Kipchoge: We need to have a countrywide plan for cultivating talent. In every county, school, college, university or club, we need to keep monitoring and identifying the best performing athletes, including the training techniques they use and their training areas, especially those in high altitude areas, which is most ideal.
Jeremy: We are coming up to the third edition of the KipKeino Classic, named in your honour. As Absa, we are really excited about it, as it attracts world-class competition and athletes across the world. What are you looking forward to in this edition and can you describe the feeling?
Dr. Kipchoge: It is truly an honour to see athletes hailing from different parts of the world coming home to compete, but we also want to see the standard of Kenyan athletes vis a vis the competition. It is a challenge to our people. It is a great feeling to see the competition promote Kenya’s image and reputation to the world, as a sporting nation that can host elite athletes and competitions.
I urge Kenyans to come together and get behind our athletes for them as they take on other contenders…all the way, from sprint to middle distance or field events.
ABSA Bank Kenya MD Jeremy Awori (centre) with Jamaican athlete Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce (left) and Namibia’s Christine Mboma at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi on May 6, 2022.
Jeremy: As Absa, we are proud to be associated with the KipKeino Classic, including the organizers - Athletics Kenya. It showcases Kenya and our ability to host major international events. After last year’s edition, we saw Ferdinand Omanyala break out as a success, and suddenly, a swathe of athletes interested in 100m and 200m emerged. That excites us and encourages us. What do you say about this?
Dr. Kipchoge: Yes, and it's important that they now compete with the best from Jamaica, the United States as well as Europe on home soil. Sprints events are not easy and our athletes should take great care. We also need to see more in the hammer throw, pole vault and javelin athletes from Team Kenya.
I thank the sponsors for all they have done to sponsor the KipKeino Classic. Let fellow Kenyans come and give support to our fellow athletes as they aim to bring honours to our country.
Jeremy: You have had an illustrious career, the envy of any sportsman. What other projects, beyond KipKeino Classic, are you involved in?
Dr. Kipchoge: We assist schools with scholarships for students who are also performing athletes. We also tag-team them to train with athletes in their surrounding areas. This way, we are building a pipeline of talent that can compete and represent Kenya at the highest level even as they pursue studies in the United States, Canada or Australia for instance.
Jeremy: Kenya has so much talent and I think, it is just about really giving them (athletes) opportunities to participate in different sports. As a role model to so many, we wish you all the best as you keep mentoring and encouraging other athletes who look up to you, to follow in your footsteps.
Dr Kipchoge: Thank you very much for coming on board to sponsor Kip Keino, which gives Kenyans an opportunity to see such events and also for taking care of sports in Kenya. It is my desire to see athletes in the Kip Keino High Performing Training Centre represent this country on such platforms. We have a lot of talent and thus we need to unify to improve the standards of sports across all levels. BY DAILY NATION




Post a Comment