This archive report was first published on 15 May 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, Kenyan athletes are facing a new challenge: making ends meet.
Contrary to the popular perception that Kenyan runners are millionaires, the reality is that many are struggling to survive.
According to Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, about 80% of athletes in various regions across the country need support because they have always depended on competitions abroad to put food on their table.
On May 14, 2020, Kipchoge was distributing foodstuff in Kericho, Nandi, Uasin Gishu, and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties as part of a mission engineered by the Ministry of Sport, in which he and his Eliud Kipchoge Foundation are ambassadors.
Over 100 athletes benefited from the supply, and the stimulus is gradually being rolled out to other regions, including Eastern, Central, and Nyanza.
One such athlete is Pius Komen, a sports officer at the Kenya Universities Sports Association, who has been helping athletes in need for the last four years.
"I have been helping athletes for the last four years, but last week the numbers of the needy increased because many are sleeping without food due to the coronavirus," Komen said in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County.
Many upcoming athletes are now forced to look for manual jobs to make ends meet after their races were either cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic.
One such athlete is Rodgers Kiplimo, a road racer who was preparing to compete in the Zaragoza 10-kilometre road race in Spain this month but was forced to suspend his training to work on a construction site to get food and pay rent.
"I have been forced to suspend my training so that I can have energy to work at the construction site because it's a tedious job," Kiplimo said.
Another athlete, Sheila Kiplagat, 28, has also been joining the men on the construction site after she couldn't travel for the Illinois Marathon in USA which was to take place on April 29.
"Since last year, I haven’t participated in any race and I was looking forward to doing well this year, but the virus has stopped everything," Kiplagat said.
As the pandemic continues to affect the sports calendar, many athletes are left without income, and it's up to well-wishers to come and support them by donating food to sustain them during this hard time.
