Governors in North Rift demand a role in the fight against doping

North Rift county governments are demanding a role to play in the fight against doping in a bid to bring back the sanity, integrity, and honour within athletics circles.

Speaking during the stakeholders meeting with Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), Nandi County Governor Stephen Sang said they are willing to join the fight as long as there are roadmaps on how they can support the fight.

He said as county bosses, they should be given clear channels on how they can support the fight against this menace that continues to taint the country's good name. 

"How bad can this be in fighting doping? How can county governments support this battle? We have been saying in public forums that we should stop doping but without information. As governors from this region, we should have a clear roadmap to support this fight. We have resources readily available. We can finance and support but give us the channel through which we can support," said Sang. 

He pointed out that some of the marauding athletes' training camps are privately owned and this complicates issues around transparency.  

"These training camps are private enterprises and a visit to their camps is like you are intruding in their private enterprises. Let us have transparency as much as possible in terms of training. As a governor, I want to be told which role I should play and at what time. This way, we can help to fight the menace," said Sang.

Athletics Kenya president Jack Tuwei said governors have huge roles to play in stopping doping. 

"If athletics goes down in this region, we will all suffer because this is a major source of income. We must jealously protect this sport if counties are to develop," he said. 

" As athletics Kenya, we continue to create awareness and educate athletes about the hazards of doping. Governors from this region must also play their roles to the fullest because the three counties in North Rift host a bigger percentage of athletes in the country," said Tuwei.

Tuwei was speaking during AIU Chief executive Officer Brett Clothier's meeting with athletes in the region.

The AK boss said there was no two way in ensuring the sport is clean.

 "We are looking forward to better engagement not just from athletes but all stakeholders in this country. The government has already given us the money and we need to come out and clean the mess," said Clothier.

The athletes called for respect from both the federation and AIU and demanded to be celebrated whenever they win. 

The athletes told AIU that they can't deny the existence of doping among Kenyan athletes but demanded to be celebrated just like others whenever they win. 

"I have been running for over 20 years now and it is high time we had a serious conversation about doping. As much as doping exists, the AIU should celebrate us whenever we win and raise integrity issues before testing," said the world marathon record holder, Eliud Kipchoge. 

He said nowadays, however, much Kenyans perform, there are still questions over whether they are clean. 

He said these kinds of questions have forced some athletes to either quit the sport or opt for road races. 

Double Olympic Games 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon and former world javelin champion Julius Yego were among the athletes who attended the session with Clothier.