AFRICAN RUNNERS IN IT FOR THE LONG RUN
Athletes from continent making their mark in country as part of increasing marathons
Some 30,000 athletes took part in the Beijing Marathon on Sunday, with the starter’s pistol reverberating against blue skies in Tian’anmen Square at 7:30 am.
Once again, African runners outperformed the pack during the 42-kilometer course, and the growing number of distance events in China is increasingly becoming a launchpad for the careers of thousands of runners from the continent.
Marathons offer opportunities for up-and-coming athletes to build their profiles and transform their lives back home.
Distance events in China have become more competi- tive globally, and as a result, races in China have become game-changers.
Elias Makori, a sports journalist in Kenya with a quarter century of experience, said quality races, big prize money and blossoming Sino-African relations have made China a great destination for African athletes.
“In particular, the Xiamen (Fujian province), Beijing and Shanghai marathons, and the Yangzhou Jianzhen Half Marathon (Jiangsu province), have seen Kenyans and Ethiopians flocking to these places. These races offer great quality, generous prize money and also pay winners promptly,” he said.
China’s marathon industry grew by 20 percent last year, reaching a value of about $20 billion, according to the China Athletics Association. More than 1,100 distance events were held in the country in 2017, of which 256 were hosted or co-hosted by the sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations.
The total number of participants in these events reached 4.98 million.
There are eight IAAF Gold Label races on the Chinese mainland, as well as three Silver Label and four Bronze Label races.
Over the past 18 years, there has been a rise in the number of African runners taking part in events in China.
Last year saw a Moroccan, Salah Eddine Bounasr, 26, clinch victory in the Beijing Marathon — which has been staged for 37 years — followed by an Ethiopian and a Kenyan. Bounasr won the Guangzhou Marathon in Guangdong province the previous year. The Beijing event, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, saw an Ethiopian, Melesech Tsegaye Beyene, extend the nation’s winning streak in the women’s race to four years.
Another IAAF Gold Label race, the Shanghai International Marathon, saw a South African, Stephen Mokoka, and an Ethiopian, Roza Dereje, retain the men’s and women’s titles, each earning $45,000. The four top places in both races were dominated by Kenyans and Ethiopians, who went home with prizes of at least $6,000 — big money in the two countries where average per capita GDP is $1,500 and $800, respectively, according to 2016 data.
Wang Qihang, a manager working at Tao Camp in Kenya, which is owned by Tao Shaoming, the former coach of the Chinese women’s distance-running team, said 20 athletes from East Africa took part in the Beijing Marathon last year, each earning $20,000 for finishing the course.
“At least 10 African athletes took part in medium-level events held in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing. In lower-profile races, including those held in Guiyang and Liupanshui, both in Guizhou province, the prize for the winner was 10,000 yuan ($1,500), Wang said.
He added that marathons had been held in China for more than four decades — including the Beijing and Great Wall races — but African participation had only been noticeable since 2012. This was the year when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was launched in Beijing, four years after the capital hosted the Summer Olympics.
Gradual change
Tekla Chemabwai Sang, a retired sprinter and middle-distance runner from Kenya who is studying at Moi University in Eldoret, a town in western Kenya, said: “I think Kenyans had very little information about races in China. Besides, there were no agents promoting China, and so Kenyan athletes only knew of European meets.”
This has gradually changed. With three training bases, one in Kenya and two in Ethiopia, Tao Camp handles more than 100 athletes in these two countries.
It also trains and organizes athletes’ participation in races, mainly in China, a market it understands well. “But we also register them in the United States and Europe, as these are more mature markets,” Wang said.
Wang has witnessed the transformation that prize money earned in China can bring to rural Kenya.
Rodah Jepkorir Tanui joined the camp five years ago when she was only 18, motivated by poverty at home and with few prospects of pursuing the further education that would probably have improved her employment chances. She and her three siblings put time and energy into their training and were soon on their way to competing in China.
She took part in three races annually and, although the earnings were not high, she was able to sustain her family back home and pay for her training. She and her siblings have managed to buy three parcels of land for their parents and build a stone house that stands out amid the mud-walled homes in rural Kenya.
Wang said, “These changes come from their own hard work and trust in us as their agent.”
Kenyan world champions have started to take note of China.
Two-time world half marathon champion Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor, who clinched his first marathon victory at the prestigious event in New York last year, said China is entering the world marathon stage.
The runner, who also won the World Cross Country Championship in 2015 in China, said the conditions are right for elite athletes to enter road races in the country as well.
“Up-and-coming runners are competing in China, not only for the rewards but to build their names. This is important, especially in recording good times, since organizers of major events take this seriously,” he said.
While Kenyans are visiting China to compete, Chinese athletes are setting up camp in Kenya to train with champions.
Kenyan marathon runners currently hold 11 of the 12 fastest times set worldwide.
Several researchers have attributed this success to the athletes’ genes, with many of the runners coming from the Kalenjin community, which is located at high altitude. Others put the athletes’ exemplary performances down to their childhood experience of running long distances to school.
However, poverty and a desire to improve their lives — coupled with discipline and focus — are the key reasons, according to Chemabwai, the retired sprinter. “Kenya also has many role models in the long-distance field, unlike many other countries,” she said.
Kamworor said Chinese runners have realized the benefits of training with Kenyans. “I think they will make it and will get a lot of experience and improve their performance,” he said, adding that although Kenyans come from humble backgrounds and start early, the Chinese athletes only need strength and selfdiscipline to improve their performances.
He said that many of his compatriots are traveling to China to compete, and the Chinese presence at Kenyan training camps has raised the visibility of the African country. “We are working together, training together, and I believe this is a good bridge of cooperation,” he said.
Kamworor’s views are echoed by Eliud Kipchoge, multiple Olympic medalist and considered one of the greatest marathon champions of his era, who said a lot is happening in China.
He took part in a one-week Nikesponsored tour of China last year, where he met with coaches and junior athletes.
Kipchoge said he was amazed by the facilities and the management of sports in China. Comparing the two countries, he said: “The Chinese are really working hard using stateof-the-art facilities, unlike Kenya, where we are working hard without facilities. Nevertheless, Kenyans have altitude and good terrain, especially dirt roads that build endurance and strength.”
He said technical exchanges between the two countries will improve marathon running, but dismissed fears that Kenya is “giving away its running secrets”, saying talent is inborn. “One only needs to train hard, be disciplined and have the right attitude,” he said.
Kipchoge said the Sino-Kenyan partnership in athletics can look to innovation and technology, in which China has the upper hand.
“Chinese marathons have opened more opportunities for Kenyans,” he said. “China is a big sports market and many marathons are held there. Young runners can hone their talent while earning money.”
Three years ago, Italian coach Renato Canova led 16 members of the Chinese women’s middle- and long-distance running teams to train at a high-altitude area in Kenya in preparation for the 2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing.
Despite the growth and success of athletics globally, challenges continue to emerge in Africa. These include foreign agents failing to pay their proteges, “burning them out” by registering them in consecutive races, and encouraging the use of banned substances to enhance performances.
Time varies
On the subject of swindling naive athletes, Kipchoge said he had not heard of any foreign agents failing to pay Kenyans, but added that the relationship between a sports agent and an athlete is based on trust.
“The Chinese managers are also registered by national federations, so I believe they are responsible. Life is about taking chances.”
Wang, the Tao Camp manager, said that failing to give athletes enough recovery time is dangerous for their long-term performances. “This time varies with individual athletes and it may take three to four months before they can start training for the next meet. This is critical when registering them for competitions.”
Doping allegations have dogged Kenyan athletes since an expose by German investigative journalist Hajo Seppelt reported rampant use of banned performance-enhancing substances, especially by Kenyan and Russian athletes. In 2014, the Kenyan government sought help from China, Norway and the World Anti-Doping Agency to revive the Kenya Anti-Doping Agency.
Patrick Sang, a renowned Kenyan coach who has built the careers of many champions, including Kipchoge and Kamworor, said that although there are no tangible partnerships with China at the moment, he hopes to pursue stronger ties soon.
“We want a partnership that will promote and strengthen the sports sector in Kenya. Perhaps one area in which Kenya and Africa can benefit is in specialized training for field events and sprints.”
He co-trains Chinese athletes in Kenya. At the training field owned by Moi University, about 45 minutes from downtown Eldoret, the three athletes and two coaches train hard.
According to coach Xiao Li, Kenyan athletes are more determined to win. They consider a race a shortcut to riches and a means to improve their families’ lives. They are eager to run and have a passion for taking part in and winning races, and this is the benefit of training with them.
“After 20 days of partnering with them, my student Peng Jianhua has improved on his speed,” Xiao said.
Xu Song, another coach, said the training atmosphere drives the Chinese athletes. “Our athletes usually take training passively. Here, you see the young people are enthusiastic about the sport. They run together, train and compete with each other, thus improving their speeds rapidly.
“In China, only a few young people like this sport, and many parents do not encourage their children to go running because it has nothing to do with the national college entrance examination.”
Xu Pengcheng, from Yantai, Shandong province, is in Kenya to train in high-altitude areas. The athlete, who arrived on Aug 1, said the difference between Chinese and Kenyan runners is that despite the relatively poor facilities, circumstances have made the Kenyans stronger and they want to change their lives.
“I have been told that most of the big villas here belong to marathon athletes,” Xu said.
Wang is looking forward to receiving the Chinese team when its members prepare for the 2022 Tokyo Olympics. He hopes he can make champions out of them and build more role models who will transform running back home.
China has produced world champion athletes, the most successful being Liu Xiang, the former world and Olympic champion and record holder in the 110-meter hurdles, the country’s first Olympic track champion and an iconic role model.