Opportunity seen as championship ends

African powerhouses such as Kenya and Ethiopia are keen to make inroads into the field competitions

The decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations to discontinue the World Under-18 Championship and instead invest in regional events for this age group presents an opportunity for China and Africa to build athletics programs to nurture young talent, experts say.

They believe the two countries will find athletics a ready and robust sector eager for such exchanges. While China is working toward improving its performances in long-distance running, African powerhouses such as Kenya and Ethiopia are keen on making inroads into the field competitions.

"Such a project will promote the grooming and discovery of young athletes who will present a formidable challenge at global events such as the Under-20 Championship," says Elias Makori, who was 2012 IAAF World Journalist of the Year.

There have been some ongoing interactions that could be further developed. "Chinese athletes competing in long-distance competitions such as half and full marathons (21 kilometers and 42km respectively) have, over the years, set up training camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. We know these nations are Africa's distance running giants and have good training sites at high altitudes. So the foundation is there," says Huang Wei, director of the youth department of the General Administration of Sport of China.

The different skill sets were visible during the just-concluded Under-18 Championship in Nairobi, Kenya, where South Africa and China topped the table with five gold medals. The African country hauled home a total of 11 medals, a tally China matched, though it came short in the number of silver medals. Cuba, who came third, had five gold medals but only eight medals in total, while Kenya followed with four gold and 15 medals in total. Ethiopia had the same number of gold medals but came a close fifth, with only 12 medals in total.

Compared with its previous performance in Cali, Colombia, two years ago, China recorded its most impressive results, jumping ahead from 10th position. Then known as the World Youth Championships in Athletics, the ninth edition saw teenager Ma Zhenxia take home a gold medal when she posted a season best in the 5,000 meter walk. Back then, Kenya finished second behind the United States, with 13 medals - five gold, four silver and four bronze.

This time round, however, Chinese athletes dominated in the track and field disciplines. The five medals were won by Zhao Yao in the 10,000 meter walk, Liu Zhekai in javelin, Niu Chunge in the pole vault, Luying Gong in long jump and Tan Qiujiao the triple jump.

"Our association invested highly in this competition. We performed very well in April during the Asian Championship and these are the athletes we fielded in these finals," says Huang.

He says they concentrated in strengthening team spirit by bringing the athletes to the camp early for training and most of them strived to improve their performances.

"They outdid their personal bests, especially the ones who won the gold medals," he says, adding that those who finished second and third performed better than expected and hold a lot of promise for the future.

The decision by the athletics world body will, therefore, see these young athletes step onto the global platform in the Under-20 Championship, which is also a biennial global event.

According to Sebastian Coe, IAAF president, research shows that there is poor transition of under-18 athletes into senior competitions.

"Ninety percent of the medalists at these under-18 championships never make it to the senior team. We decided it's not the best pathway for those athletes at that stage of their career." Coe said in Brazil last year.

"I adhere to the decisions made by the world body. I think this gives the necessary impetus for stronger Sino-African cooperation in sports, an area that can grow rapidly due to the common goals shared," says youth department director Huang.

Kenya, the first sub-Saharan country to have hosted this iconic event, therefore becomes the last global stage for the under-18 athletes. A total of 131 countries sent their athletes to the championship, with officials saying around 1,300 competitors attended. However, out of the 215 members that constitute the IAAF, six countries - among them the US, UK, Japan and Canada - skipped the event, citing security concerns.

"We did not think too much of this and instead focused on improving our performance," says Huang adding that terrorism is an international phenomenon. "Africa is indeed our friends and we were warmly received in Kenya. We instead focused on team management," he says, observing that the host country also went out of its way to make the event successful.

lucymorangi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/04/2017 page28)