Dr Kipchumba: Hunt for quick riches stalling Kenyan long-distance dominance

Despite Kenya’s storied history in distance running, the country has struggled to reclaim its throne in the 5,000m and 10,000m men’s events at the World Championships.

Dr. Byron Kipchumba, a sports science and management expert, believes the pursuit of instant success has crippled Kenya’s dominance in the men’s long-distance events.

Kipchumba holds a PHD in kinesiology, the scientific study of human movement. It includes the study of anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and psychology. He further serves as an educator and coach at KIPRUN, a training camp located in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County. Kipchumba further runs a sports medicine organization, “Running the Race”, which offers medical services to athletes in Iten and Eldoret

With the Tokyo 2025 World Championships fast approaching, Kenya faces an uphill battle in these events.

The last time the nation struck gold in the men’s 10,000m was in Edmonton 2001, thanks to Charles Kamathi. Since then, Kenya has only come close three times through Geoffrey Kamworor (Beijing 2015), Stanley Mburu (Eugene 2022) and Daniel Ebenyo (Budapest 2023) who struck silver medals at the global showpiece.

The men’s 5,000m has been no different. Kenya’s last world title came in 2005 through Benjamin Limo.

Since then, near misses have defined the event, with Eliud Kipchoge (Osaka 2007), Caleb Ndiku (Beijing 2015) and Jacob Krop (Eugene 2022) coming close with claiming silver medals.

Kipchumba argues that the growing appeal of road races is draining talent from Kenya’s traditional strongholds on the track.

“The World Championships and Olympics happen once every few years, but road races, 5K, 10K and 15K are frequent, offering quick financial rewards. Many athletes aren’t willing to wait for track glory, opting instead for the road,” Kipchumba who won the Vienna City Marathon in 2019 in 2:06:56 explains.

He warns that this shift is stripping the nation of its long-distance depth: “Kenya has talent in abundance, but the individual focus on financial gain has overshadowed the patriotic drive that once fueled our dominance.”

This, he says, is what has made male athletes shift to the road races while providing stark contrast between male and female athletes.

“Women are more patient, resilient and focused, unlike the men who want quick and immediate success. As a result, they have a shorter running career on average as compared to their female counterparts,” he noted.

In the women’s event, triple Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon is the reigning 5,000m world champion having picked up from Hellen Obiri who dominated in London 2017 and Doha 2019.

In the 10,000m, Kenya’s last medal was in Beijing 2015 through Vivian Cheruiyot with Obiri coming close in Eugene 2022 after claiming silver.

Kipchumba insists the country has failed to transition properly from past champions. “We never prepared to replace stars like Limo and that has cost us dearly,” he says.

He further points to the dwindling participation in cross-country events as a major setback: “Limo was a cross country athlete and that was essential in giving him the endurance and speed necessary for the 5000m.”