This archive report was first published on 6 June 2020.
Former world javelin champion Julius Yego is facing a new challenge in his training routine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The athlete, who has won numerous gold medals in African and Commonwealth Games, has been forced to train in his backyard in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, after government restrictions on movement and social gatherings were put in place.
Yego, who is also a national record holder, expressed his frustration with the lack of world-class training facilities in the North Rift region and in Kenya as a whole. He stated that he has been forced to retreat to his small compound because of the lack of proper training facilities.
"I have been forced to retreat to my small compound because of lack of proper training facilities," Yego said in an interview with Nation Sport.
Yego, who was accompanied by his two sons, Finny Kigen (1 year and 10 months) and Jarvis Kiptoo (five), said that training at home has been difficult. He hopes that things will normalize soon and they will be able to train properly.
However, President Uhuru Kenyatta's recent address to the nation extended the cessation of movement from hardest hit areas and a nationwide dusk-to-dawn curfew for 30 more days, which may further delay Yego's training plans.
Yego, who has been steadily improving since winning a bronze medal in African Championships in 2010, has won gold medals at the African Championships (2012, 2014, and 2018), African Games (2011), and one each in Commonwealth Games and World Championships in 2015. He also stood out as the man to beat at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, but settled for a silver medal due to an ankle injury.
Yego had plans to improve on the silver at the Tokyo Olympic Games, but the Summer Games were postponed to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
