NAIROBI: The mental health struggles of Kenyan athletes and a lack of support have come under the spotlight in the East African running powerhouse following a spate of deaths in the past few weeks. The country is home to some of the world’s top long-distance runners, but the athletics community has struggled with deadly domestic violence and entrenched doping.

Internationally, sports bodies have come to recognize the huge impact of mental health following gymnast Simone Biles and tennis player Naomi Osaka’s public discussion of their own struggles. While venerated globally, Kenyan athletes face intense pressure to succeed and financially provide for their immediate and extended families, further adding to their mental strain.

Since 2017, more than 80 Kenyan athletes have been sanctioned for doping, according to the World Athletics Integrity Unit, leaving them grappling with the financial, physical, and mental fallout of years-long bans. On October 6, Kipyegon Bett, who was the 800 metres world bronze medallist in 2017, died in hospital in his home town of Kericho in western Kenya from kidney and liver failure brought on by alcohol. He was just 26.

Bett, one of Kenya’s most promising middle distance runners, had been slapped with a four-year ban in 2018 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. “He went into a depression and started drinking heavily,” his grieving sister Purity Kirui told AFP after his death.

Kirui said Bett had ignored the family’s calls to resume training after his ban ended in 2022, and failed to make a significant return to competitive sport. On the same day Bett’s death was announced, the body of steeplechaser Clement Kemboi was found some 250 kilometres (155 miles) away in Iten, the famous high-altitude training hub in western Kenya.

“We cannot ignore that there’s a problem,” Athletics Kenya (AK) executive member Barnaba Korir told AFP. “The recent deaths show the athletes are facing major challenges including financial and mental health issues.”

In the aftermath of the deaths, 2016 Olympic javelin silver medallist Julius Yego urged action to better protect Kenyan athletes. “The issue of mental health among the athletes who have served suspensions for doping is alarming,” Yego told AFP. “These athletes feel isolated and have had to battle their problems literally alone without any support from Athletics Kenya or their former managers and coaches.” Many denied they had ever used drugs, he said, adding that he was in touch with a struggling former long distance runner currently serving a four-year ban. The death of Bett and Kemboi came as the close-knit Kenyan athletics community was already reeling following the loss of three other athletes. 

Also in October, celebrated 53-year-old marathon runner Samson Kandie was killed in a brutal assault and in September another marathoner, Willy Kipruto Chelewa, was found dead. The circumstances of their deaths remain under investigation. Four people—including Kandie’s wife—appeared in court this week.

But in a country where a third of the 52 million population lives in poverty, athletes’ earnings also made them targets of attack, retired 1,500m Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop told AFP. “Tragically it is becoming rampant. It calls for the athletes to be more vigilant,” he said, citing Kandie’s case, who was killed after men assaulted him outside his house in Eldoret.

Kiprop, who now works as a police officer, said being a member of the forces was often the only way athletes could ensure their safety. “Otherwise, good personal discipline is essential.” — AFP