AfricaPress-Tanzania: LACK of high performance training and quality athletics coaches are among reasons behind Tanzania’s failure to shine at international stage.
A growing trend by local runners failing to compete effectively at different international events is raising alarm and legends including Filbert Bayi and Suleiman Nyambui are calling for solutions.
Bayi, who is a Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) Secretary General, said that the country was facing serious lack of quality coaches who could lead athletes to a high performance level. This, Bayi said, was hampering local talents to excel at the international level.
He said that most of coaches available are those who are developing and to take athletes to next level to complete with other top contenders around the world needs well qualified and advanced coaches.
“We have coaches, but most of them are development coaches, they can help athletes to a certain level only, to reach at the high level will certainly be a tough task for them,” he said.
Bayi added that Tanzania needs coaches who can help identify available talents through different locally organised events and help them to reach their goals, which is to perform well and bring honor to the country and for individual benefit as well.
“High performance coaches can study individual runner during an event and know exactly areas to develop for an athlete to reach the top level,” he said.
On his side Nyambui, who is the coach of the Brunei national athletics team, said athletes need proper training, which requires best coaches.
“It is imperative for the country to have best coaches and this will in the end help to produce top quality athletes,” said Nyambui.
Bayi and Nyambui are the only Tanzanian athletes to have ever won Olympic Games medals. Bayi won silver medal in the 3000m steeplechase (in a new national record) at the Olympics held in Moscow in 1980 and Nyambui also won silver medal in 5000 metres at the same Games.
Last year Bayi was among the past contests highlighted during World Athletics Heritage Mile Night in Monaco due to the epic 1500m race in Christchurch, New Zealand, at the 1974 Commonwealth Games.
Bayi produced one of the most audacious performances in athletics history as he led from gun to tape to win gold in a world record of 3:32.2.
By that time was 20-year-old but he took almost a second off the 1967 mark of 3:33.1 set by Jim Ryun of the United States also present in Monaco with runner John Walker another honoured guest chasing him down the final straight during New Zealand battle.
It followed his success in the 1973 All-African Games in Lagos, where he had won the 1500m title with a front-running performance that had defeated a field including Kenya’s double Olympic champion Kip Keino.
