Celebrate successes of Paralympians

The disqualification of three Kenyan competitors at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has come as a disappointment for the team which started off quite well when the competition began.

With one gold medal and an additional bronze already in the bag, there were all indications that this team would repeat on the successes of the Olympic team which put up a superb show despite its poor treatment by sports managers.

On Friday last week, Henry Nzungi (400 metres ), Nelly Nasimiyu (women’s 1,500 metres) and Erick Kiptoo Sang (5,000 metres) were disqualified for technical infringements that had more to do with poor preparations rather than mischievous transgressions. Nzingi and Nasimiyu were penalised for stepping over their lanes, while the International Paralympic Committee sanctioned Sang because his guide had crossed the finish line ahead of him.

These infringements are very technical and can be minimised with rigorous training. Three disqualifications in one day could be a pointer that more needs to be done to prepare athletes for competition. There is obviously great talent in the Kenya team — for example Samuel Muchai won gold and Wilson Bii secured bronze in the 5,000 metres men’s race that Sang also contested.

The coaching staff no doubt have their work cut out, and that is where the emphasis should be post-Rio. The focus on coaching should begin during the schools games for the physically challenged, and then be unscaled to regional and international competitions.

There is still plenty of competitions coming up at the Rio Paralympic Games and we should get behind our team in the coming days.

But even as Kenyans get behind their Paralympic team, sports authorities and competitors should have more stakeholder debate on how to increase television audiences in countries such Kenya.

 This year’s Paralympic Games is a major international multi-sport event that involves athletes with a range of physical and intellectual disabilities but it is getting far too little coverage, and therefore the abundant talent in Kenya is rarely full displayed.

The disparity for equal treatment with non-disabled athletes has been a source of frustrations for competitors. So as we put in place programmes to prepare coaches and athletes for future games, let us find ways to letting sports fans watch these talented sports personalities in action. In that way, they will be better able to celebrate Muchai’s gold medal and Bii’s bronze medal in the Rio Paralympic Games. We must appreciate the team in Rio — it is doing very well under very difficult circumstances.