NAIROBI, Oct 7, 2007 - The Kenyan government has been urged to reward athletes better in order to build on their success at the world athletics championships in Osaka, a poll showed on Sunday.
President Mwai Kibaki on Thursday dished out seven million shillings (about 106,000 dollars) to athletes who harvested five golds, three silvers and five bronze in Japan in August.
It was the African nation’s best performance in the championships’ 24-year history, and ranked them second to the United States
A poll by the Sunday Nation newspaper found that 57.9 percent of those questioned said more needs to be done for the athletes while 42.1 percent said the government was doing enough.
The survey with a sample of 2,120 was carried out the country’s eight main cities and towns.
It follows the call last month by Kenyan middle distance legend and National Olympic Committee chief Kip Keino for the government to invest more in training to boost their performances further.