A Kenyan XC legend – Paul Tergat – „Our coaches don’t know how to handle athletes, they don’t relate in a manner that brings out the winning touch among athletes.“

When the man who is better known in Kenya than most politicians expresses his view on the reason why no Kenyan has won the individual men’s title at the IAAF World Cross Country, it is probably worth paying attention to what he has to say.

Paul Kibii Tergat
Born: June 7, 1969, Riwo, Kabarnet
“Our athletes have not regained the title because of lack of the will to win,“ says Paul Tergat, the five-time winner of the World Cross title but worryingly, perhaps, for a nation that takes such pride in the sport, also the last Kenyan to win the 12km individual title, back in 1999.

„We just don’t have strong coaches to push athletes,“ says Tergat, who since giving up on his cross country career has gone on to become the holder of the World record for the marathon.