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Marathoner Daniel Gekara feels effects of coronavirus but soldiers on – VIDEO


Last month Kenyan marathoner Daniel Gekara would have been gone back to Indonesia to try his second attempt in winning the Jogja Marathon.

In 2019, he emerged second and he was determined to win the marathon that was scheduled to take place in April.

SHUTTERED DREAM

But with international sporting events and flights cancelled, Gekara’s dream has been shuttered.

“I was really determined to go out there and win. I tried in 2019 and came in second and I knew what I had to do to win this time. I had really worked hard but then this pandemic has cut short my dream and that of many other athletes,” Gekara told Nairobi News.

He is however not giving up and hopes everything will be back to normal soon.

“At the moment what is very important is making sure we are healthy and that is my priority at the moment. I have also continued my training every morning in Ngong Hills but it is very difficult to train yet you are not sure when you will race next,” he said.

OPTIMISTIC

“I race twice or thrice a year and that is how I am able to make some money to support my family but right now it is very difficult and it seems like it will be impossible to achieve that but we remain optimistic,” he added.

Gekara has now urged the government through the Ministry of Sport to make sure they reach out to athletes who might be unknown but are suffering during this pandemic due to the loss of income from cancelled races.

“Kenya is blessed with many athletes and most of us are unknown. We cannot all compete in Europe because we don’t have high profile agents so we depend on these small local races and others in Asia if we are lucky,” he said,

“At the moment all that is not happening and most athletes are suffering. I urge the government to check on such athletes because they are really in need,” he concluded.