KORIR: Unconditional assistance for pioneer athletes is non-negotiable

My sincere condolence to the families of pioneer Olympian Nyandika Maiyoro and John Mayaka, who passed away on Sunday.

The two are illustrious legends and very inspiring athletes who placed Kenya on the global map and paved the way for our athletics and, indeed sporting prowess.

Nyandika, especially, has been an inspiration to many upcoming athletes especially the long distance runners and he has never stopped talking about where it all started in athletics.

He has been like a moving library and has always preached the athletics gospel and where he wants to see the sport in future.

But as we celebrate the lives and times of the two athletes, it’s important for the entire fraternity to take responsibility for neglecting former heroes and heroines and find a way forward.

As much as the government should take the biggest responsibility for failing to implement policies to assist heroes and heroines, we all stand accused for taking a back seat and sitting on the fence.

I believe we can all work towards this change and not just emerge at the last minute with choreographed messages of condolence describing the heroes and heroines.

I agree with Hezekiah Nyamao and David Nyamache, who said they should be assisted while alive and not when they are dead.

Clearing hospital and mortuary bills is not a sane way of assisting the heroes and heroines. I am talking about sportsmen and women who featured for this country in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

I believe it’s not too much fining a way to get these heroes specialised NHIF cards that can assist receive treatment because most of them are not doing well health-wise.

The irony is that we have always given promises but it has been hard implementing them.

Stakeholders in athletics and sports in general have to sit together like yesterday and resolve this issue once and for all.

Many heroes live in abject poverty and some of them have no money to cater for their medical bills.

And by the way, I am talking about the first generation of athletes because they never made money and were only running for the pride of the nation.

Athletes who ran in the 80s, 90s and the current crop have no excuse and they need to plan their earnings properly.
The only assistance they should be asking for is perhaps that AK or NOCK to organise investment seminars, which some of them do not even take seriously.

Life in sports or track does not last long and one has a very short window to plan and invest.

As a country, we cannot afford to assist all the athletes including those we are aware made their money.

I am concerned about the first generation because I know they didn’t run for money.

My challenge to the sporting fraternity is that we must now begin to think of sustainable solutions to this perennial headache.