The 2015 World Javelin champion Julius Yego has called for concerted efforts in the fight against doping even after the country narrowly escaped an imminent ban from World Athletics on Wednesday.
In a Facebook post on his account; @JuliusYegoOgwOly, the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist said: "Reprieve for us now but how long will kenya remain in Category 'A' of @aiu_athletics? Time will tell. As @Sebcoeofficial has said, our reputation down, under 0% as at now in the face of the world of athletics. Let's all unite and fight to win (against) this menace."
On Wednesday, the World Athletics Council discussed Kenya's doping situation and argued against banning the country.
The Council, referring to an Athletics Integrity Unit report, noted that the country had made concerted efforts in the fight against the menace, with the government's injection of Sh612m a year for the next five years bailing the country out.
The money is meant to strengthen Kenya’s anti-doping programmes, which serve as an appropriate response to the situation at this time.
Separately, Yego added: “It comes as a reprieve to us but we have lost their (World Athletics) trust. For how long will we remain in Category 'A'?
“The government has tried to help us escape the ban but if we are not careful, we might end up being dropped from World Athletics (competitions). The doping trend is worrying.”
The Kenyan javelin trailblazer said the presence of senior Kenyan athletes on the list of shame paints a bad picture of Kenya to the world.
“These cases are very sad and having our senior athletes involved comes off as extremely disappointing,” he said.
The African champion hailed Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba for his stand against doping and his zeal in the fight against the vice, alongside Athletics Kenya, saying: “I hope they will keep up with the strict measures. Hopefully, this will reduce the number of cases in the country."
He observed that everyone involved should be held accountable as opposed to the current situation where it is the athletes who have borne the blunt.
“In as much as it’s the athletes who put themselves in such situations, other people are also behind this menace. The authorities should also investigate coaches and support personnel associated with these athletes,” Yego said.
"We need to dig deep and find out what the problem is. Let us all unite and fight to win this battle."
Meanwhile, despite the country's lucky escape, the East Africans remain a Category A federation under the World Athletics anti-doping rules and the onus remains on Kenyan authorities to work closely with the AIU to ensure these funds are used effectively.
World Athletics president Seb Coe welcomed the measures being taken to address the doping situation in Kenya.
“I particularly welcome the additional resource made available by the Government of Kenya in this fight. The only way that we can reduce the scale of this problem is a joint commitment across all the sports stakeholders in Kenya and of course World Athletics and its Athletics integrity unit,” Coe said.
