Patrick Kipng’eno from Nakuru County and Ruth Daniel from Uasin Gishu County are this year’s winners of Barng’etuny Mountain run race 2nd Edition which is normally conducted annually in remembrance of the late Hon. Ezekiel Barng’etuny who was KANU’s long serving nominated MP.
The two parted with a total prize of Kshs 100,000 each after emerging winners of the 12 Km mountain race.
The event which brought together athletes across the country was held at Kimatkei area in Tindiret Constituency, Nandi County.
Speaking during the event, Nandi Governor Stephen Sang blamed the doping menace on some coaches, managers and some private Training camps urging the Athletics Kenya together with the government and other responsible bodies to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Sang cited that doping is being done by trainers, coaches, rogue camps and unfortunately by some of the training camps in North Rift which are private, of which if the menace cannot be traced to understand where this happened, many athletes will be blacklisted yet the facilities where the vice emanated will continue to mess up the athletes.
“Why don’t we blacklist all the training facilities and coaches who have been found culpable of doping?”Sang asked.
He asked all the stakeholders to find a way of tracing where the doping happened for example if it is facilitated by the coach, both the athlete and the coach be banned and if it is being facilitated by the training facility, then the coach, the athlete be banned and the facility be punished so that the problem can be put to an end.
On the other hand, the Athletics Kenya President Major General Jackson Tuwei asked athletes to shun away from the menace by running and competing hence warning the culprits that the law will take its course if any is caught.
Tuwei affirmed that Kenya as a country is in the Map of the World Athletics and won’t allow any force to destroy it thus sending a warning to athletes, coaches, managers and training facilities to up their game and desist from what will ruin the Athletics World completely.
Kenya has been put on notice in doping menace among some Athletes which risks the country to be banned from competitions Worldwide.
Leaders present at the event included the host MP Julius Melly, Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago and the County leaders who urged athletes to shun away from use of medicine and report those influencing them to participate in doping so that stun actions can be taken against them.