Kenya Comes Through a Successful Year in Athletics.

(From The Nation (Kenya) - AAGM)

Byline: Peter Njenga

When Sports Minister Maina Kamanda directed Athletics Kenya to keep passports of school going athletes last August, he not only spared the future of a of runners but also offered the tonic for a serious malaise that had befallen Kenyan athletes.

Kenya's Lucy Wangui Kabuu is greeted by spectators during a victory lap after winning the gold medal in the women's 10,000 metres at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Cases of athletes burning out even before they had began their careers or the Kenyan propensity for producing one-season wonders had reached levels that sparked concern.

Nobody can account for most athletes who competed in the 2003 world championships in a sport ruled by a select group of athletes like Kenenisa Bekele, Asafa …