Nairobi Star (Nairobi)
William Njuguna
18 July 2011
He has high hopes of replicating Kenya’s form at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi last year
Mathu’s last assignment was coaching the athletics team to the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India last year. Kenya were the top athletics nation in India with ten gold eleven silver and 8 bronze medals.
Mathu will be assisted by Sammy Rono, David Leting and Joseph Ochieng. Coaches interviewed said the team was strong and expected Kenya to replicate its performance from the last championship in Berlin where Kenyan finished fourth with four gold 5 silver and two bronze medals and finished third overall at the event.
Coach Julius Kirwa said the team should be able to dominate the middle and long distance races and has a good chance of winning a medal in the 4x 400m relay “We have a quality team with Rudisha, Brimin Kipruto, Isaiah Koech, Milcah Chemos and Vivian Cheruiyot so its a star studded team and I know we will do well,” Kirwa said.
Kirwa said a one month training stint will be important for the side and said the athletes should cut down on their foreign commitments ahead of the world championships. “It’s important we cut down on the Grand Prix. There has to be unity and team building ahead of the event and we should stay together and not divulge our tactics to rivals,” added Kirwa.
Kirwa said the training conditions must be identified to know the climate the team is going to train in. “I believe our federation has identified the weather pattern for August and September so that our athletes know what we will be up against,” he added.
David Leting said the team has high expectations of doing well. “The pressure will be upon the athletes to achieve what they did last year we had a very good run and we must keep that run going for the world event,” added Leting who cautioned: “Kenya should not concentrate on Ethiopian but every other team. There are many other strong performers elsewhere,” Leting concluded. The team reports for residential training at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani on July 25.
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