Plans to use university sports science to boost athletes lauded

Are universities the key to unlocking the full potential in Kenyan athletes?

Sports in Kenya have been struggling for decades to compete favourably on the global stage, despite the country proving that it has the talent needed to be a global giant. Now, for the first time, the ministry of sports has opted to find solutions to the struggles through science.

After the country’s dismal performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, Kipchumba Murkomen, revealed plans to introduce and tap into sports science at local universities to help the country’s athletes to improve their abilities and be able to compete successfully globally.

Kenya is well known for its top-tier talent in athletics, especially in long-distance marathons in which it has repeatedly produced world champions and broken world records.

The most notable record is that of long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge. In 2019, Kipchoge became the first human to break the two-hour marathon barrier in the INEOS Challenge in Vienna, Austria, clocking in at 1:59:40. In 2022, Kipchoge broke his own record in the Berlin marathon with a time of 2:01:09, which made him the first person to break the record five times.

Kenya struggled in Paris

However, despite winning gold in the past two Olympic marathons, Kipchoge failed to finish the race at the 2024 Paris Olympics – a time when the entire world was cheering him on to set another record.

In the year 2021, Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala became the fastest man in Africa, winning the 100m dash in 9.77s. Despite his achievements, Omanyala could not make it to the finals of the 100m men’s dash in the Olympics.

In the 2012 London Olympics, Kenya bagged all three medals – gold, silver, and bronze – in the 3,000m men’s steeplechase event. The country lost the top spot to Uganda in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and to Morocco in Paris.

The 2000s and early 2010s were a good period for rugby fans in Kenya. The national team, the Shujaa, was respected globally. In 2016, the Shujaa made headlines by becoming world champions after beating Fiji to win the cup at the Singapore Rugby Sevens. In 2017, the Shujaa was ranked 27th in world rankings. It has since dropped six places to 33rd.

These are among many reasons why Murkomen believes science is needed to help Kenya regain its shine in athletics and improve in other sports disciplines.

Investment in sports science vital

“Sport is big business today, and any successful business has some background research work that goes into it to ensure its success,” said Michael Otieno, Africa Nazarene University’s basketball coach. “Big leagues such as the National Basketball Association have invested a lot in sport science which enables them to select the best players for their teams and also helps to keep the players healthy and constantly performing at the highest level.”

In general, sports science provides “evidence-based interventions to improve athletes through testing and training protocols to contribute to an athlete’s performance ultimately” according to the website of the Centre for Health and Human Performance at the North-West University in South Africa, where many international athletes train every year. It also includes the psychology, physiology, nutritional science, and performance analysis of athletes to gauge and improve on their abilities.

“A lot of things are involved in sports science such as determining a person’s health history, weight, size, diet, shoe size, environment, genetic background, all of which will help determine their ability to constantly perform at a high level,” Otieno said.

Relationship between performance and environment

“When you see these developed countries constantly perform well in sports, it is because they understand its benefits and, therefore, have invested heavily in sport research to ensure they always produce the best athletes. For instance, you will find high schools and colleges in the United States ensuring their athletes have a proper diet and workout routine which can involve them strapped onto machines that monitor their heart rates, lung capacity, speed and so on,” Otieno added.

“We have seen incidences of foreign managers and coaches bringing their athletes to come and train with our marathoners in the high-altitude areas – this is because they did their research and found a relationship between performance and environment. All this is using sport science to ensure high performance, and I am glad that the government has finally realised its importance,” he said.

According to Dr Francis Mwangi, lecturer and physical education expert at Kenyatta University, Kenya invests little in talent identification and development (TID) programmes. Where there are efforts in that direction, it is more talk than action, and where there is action, it is more of “a cash cow” than delivering services.

”This is a very good move by the government, but only if it will be seen to fruition,” Mwangi told University World News.

“Some universities have been training sports scientists, but the graduates have not been utilised as the practice environment is not conducive for them to thrive. The industry is dominated by long-serving personnel who are resistant to change, and they keep recycling themselves in the various positions in the organisations, thus leaving little room for change and innovations,” Mwangi explained.

Synergy between sectors

“The sports ministry should create constructive interaction between the relevant sectors to take full advantage of the CBC [competency-based] system of education which proposes structures and curriculum that can boost sports TID. It should also develop regulatory framework for practitioners in sports-related professions,” he said.

“If more universities take up sport science, it will go a long way to boost the sport industry in our country by helping athletes improve their performance through science.”