The performance of the Kazakhstan national athletics team at the Paris Olympic Games ended in failure.
The Kazakh team had 8 Olympic licences and promised to bring the country at least 1 silver medal. However, in reality, the best result achieved by the athletes was 9th place, which was taken by Kenyan-born athlete Nora Jeruto.
The editorial board of the FBRK tried to figure out who is to blame for such a poor result from the national team.
The naturalised Kenyan athletes brought in did not live up to expectations. Hopes that they would not only win medals but also set an example for young Kazakh athletes have clearly not been realised.
It is worth noting that, unlike foreign players who do not change their citizenship but play for Kazakh clubs, naturalised athletes are those who have taken Kazakh citizenship, renouncing their own.
Since 2018, the president of the Athletics Federation of Kazakhstan has been the former governor of the East Kazakhstan region, Danial Akhmetov. Insiders suggest that one of his deputies, namely the vice-president of the federation, Almaskhan Smatlayev, was directly involved in bringing in foreign athletes.
Previously, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that it is necessary to support domestic athletes and stop bringing in foreign players. Meanwhile, the question arises: will sports officials be held accountable for the disappointing results brought by foreign athletes?
In athletics, there are certain rules for naturalised athletes. After an athlete receives Kazakh citizenship, a so-called 'three-year quarantine' begins for them.
During this period, the athlete is banned from representing their new country at international competitions; they can only take part in regular tournaments.
Specifically, in June 2017 Kenyan athletes arrived in Kazakhstan. In December 2018 they received Kazakh passports, after which their three-year quarantine began, which ended only in January 2022.
Until that time, the athletes continued to be listed as representatives of Kenya. At the same time, throughout this period, Kazakhstan funded their training.
Given that obtaining citizenship has become an even more complex and lengthy process, it is fair to ask: is our country ready to go through such a long and difficult path again?
Obtaining citizenship took the Kenyan athletes a year and a half, and another three years were spent on quarantine. It is quite possible that many unforeseen events could have occurred during this time: injuries, doping, or a decline in sporting performance.
One should also not forget that each such athlete costs the Kazakh budget a considerable sum. At the same time, despite holding Kazakh citizenship, naturalised athletes do not live in the country and have no understanding of it whatsoever.
Earlier, Kazakh sports experts shared what they believe are the problems in athletics. In their opinion, Kazakhstan needs to pay more attention to the development of children's and youth sport, and also regularly improve the qualifications of the current coaching staff.
As noted by the vice-president of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA), Alexey Kondrat, the future of Kazakh sport depends on all the links involved in this process – from the country's leadership, relevant ministries, and sports federations to athletes and coaches.
It is hard to disagree with this conclusion. But, sadly, as long as officials making crucial decisions get away with managerial mistakes, we most likely should not expect high achievements from Kazakh sport.