Kenyan athletes are among the best long-distance and middle-distance runners on the planet, but their successes often hide serious mental health problems, tragically illustrated by recent deaths. Winning to live and support your family: the circle is vicious and leads to doping, addictions and violence for some of the star athletes in this East African country.
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Since 2017, more than 80 Kenyan athletes have been sanctioned for doping, according to the World Athletics Integrity Unit: once suspended, they face a sharp drop in their income leading to financial, physical and mental difficulties for several years.
On October 6, Kipyegon Bett, an 800-meter bronze medalist at the 2017 World Championships, died in hospital in his hometown of Kericho, western Kenya, from kidney and liver failure. by alcohol. He was only 26 years old.
“Entered into depression”
Bett, one of Kenya’s most promising middle-distance runners, was handed a four-year ban in 2018 after testing positive for EPO.
“ He became depressed and started drinking heavily », Explained to AFP his grieving sister, Purity Kirui.
Bett, she assures, had ignored his family’s calls to return to training after his suspension ended in 2022. As a result, he failed to return to a high level. The same day his death was announced, the body of steeplechase runner Clement Kemboi was found some 250 kilometers away in Iten, the famous high-altitude training center in western Kenya.
“ We can’t ignore that there is a problem said Barnaba Korir, executive committee member of Athletics Kenya, the athletics federation. “ Recent deaths show athletes face major challenges, including financial and mental health issues. »
Alarming situation
In the wake of these deaths, Julius Yego, javelin silver medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games, called for measures to better protect Kenyan athletes. “ The issue of mental health of athletes suspended for doping is alarming “, he stressed. “ These athletes feel isolated and have had to fight their problems literally alone, without any support from Athletics Kenya or their former managers and coaches. »
Yego himself is in contact with a former long-distance runner in serious difficulty after a four-year suspension.
The deaths of Bett and Kemboi came as Kenya’s tight-knit athletic community was already reeling from the loss of three other athletes. Also in October, famous marathon runner Samson Kandie, 53, was killed in a brutal attack, and in September another marathon runner, Willy Kipruto Chelewa, was found dead.
Fatal assault
The circumstances of the deaths remain under investigation and four people, including Samson’s wife Kandie, appeared in court this week.
But in a country where a third of the 52 million inhabitants live below the poverty line, the income of athletes makes them targets of attacks, indicated Asbel Kiprop, Olympic champion in the 1,500 m in 2008, today at the retirement.
“ It is tragic to see that this phenomenon is spreading. Athletes need to be more vigilant », He notes, citing the case of Kandie, who suffered a fatal attack in front of her house in Eldoret.
Kiprop, who now works as a police officer, believes that being part of law enforcement is often the only way for athletes to ensure their safety. “ Otherwise, good personal discipline is essential “, he says.