Kenyan athletes have asked Athletics Kenya (AK) to avail interpreters to them for ease of communication during international championships.
The athletes said the presence of interpreters will help guide them during pre and post-event interviews.
Led by world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge and 800m record holder David Rudisha, the athletes tasked AK to source for an interpreter to help pass correct information during interviews to ensure effective communication.
While responding to questions from journalists during the Annual Athletes Conference in Eldoret, Kipchoge questioned why Kenya has never thought of having an interpreter in major races.
“It is high time that AK train individuals to interpret our local languages because sometimes upcoming athletes may suffer communication breakdown,” he said.
The marathon legend tasked athletes to learn some communication skills that will help improve their appeal to sponsors.
“Many Kenyan runners lack exposure and need help,” said the Olympic marathon champion. “As an athlete, once you hire an interpreter, you have to pay him or her for air ticket, accommodation among other expenses which the majority of us can not afford but if the federation can hire someone, it will be great for all of us,” said the two-time Berlin Marathon champion.
Rudisha, a former Olympic champion added his voice to the subject, saying: “It will be good if AK availed an interpreter to help athletes who cannot communicate well. English as a language may not be understood by everyone hence we fail to put our points across.”
