NAIROBI – Olympic fever intensified in Kenya on Saturday as jubilant fans pushed against barbed wire fences and sneaked into press areas to get closer to runners competing in trials for the London Games.
The biggest cheer came as 800 metres world record-holder David Rudisha won his trial and did a lap of honour around the stadium draped in a coat made of colobus monkey skin, a traditional outfit of his native Maasai tribe.
Kenyan athletics fans, accustomed to seeing their compatriots win Olympic gold medals in middle and long-distance races, also gave generous applause to a podgy barefoot runner who had somehow managed to compete amongst some of the world’s best over 5,000 metres. He trailed home last and the crowds clapped him all the way to the finish line.
“I think we can win 10 gold medals in middle and long-distance competitions in London,” said Frederick Atonya, a farmer from western Kenya who recently moved to Nairobi.
Atonya, like more than a dozen other fans, came early and managed to sneak into the press area.
“I like it here. I like to be near the action as I was a runner myself when I was young,” Atonya explained, as other eager fans leaned against a barbed wire fence to see Kenyan athletes interviewed by scores of reporters.
Although the athletes on the track were competing for seats on the plane to London, for many Kenyan fans this was a celebration of the country’s success on the running track.
“We are the best, there is no doubt about it,” said another trespasser into the press enclosure, who declined to give his name.
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In the first qualifying trial of the day, the women 5,000m race, Kenya’s depth of talent was highlighted by figures showing that over the past two years all 18 runners had run inside the 15 minute 20 seconds qualifying mark needed for the Olympic Games.
The expectations in Nairobi were so high some fans suggested it was not fair Kenya could enter only three athletes per Olympic event. Others cheekily said that runners outside the top three places could be loaned to other countries to make them look good.
Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenya’s 3,000m steeplechase world champion who finished second in the trials, added to the carnival atmosphere inside the 30,000 capacity Nyayo National Stadium by performing a trademark dance to huge cheers from the stands.
“He dances even better when he finishes first,” Atonya reassured everyone around him.
