Much argument has been put across on the underlying reasons for the success of Kenyans and Ethiopians in middle and long-distance athletics. Great names including Kipchoge Keino, Tegla Loroupe, Paul Tergat have emerged as athletic giants from Kenya. From Ethiopia, Abebe Bikila, Tirunesh Dibaba, Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele have conquered the track. Pondering on the argument, a MMUST Sports Science Scholar Dr. Peter Bukhala and his colleague Dr. Benoit Gaudin of French Institute for Research and Development (IRD) delved into the discourse. “Should this athletic success of Kenyans and Ethiopians be explained only from a genetic point of view?” the two scholars asked.
During the 1st East Africa Running Athletics Conference in Addis Ababa 2016, five MMUST staff brought their socio-cultural perspectives that were published in the book titled “Kenya and Ethiopia Athletics: Towards an Alternative Scientific Approach” with Benoit Gaudin and Bezabih Wolde as editors, and published by IRD. The MMUST authors each with a book chapter included Dr. Peter Bukhala, Mr. Issa Kweyu, Dr. Eunice Majanga, Dr. Rose Opiyo and Dr. James Ouda. The chapters provide alternative arguments based on socio-cultural explanations to their athletic success.
The book is a product of the 1st East Africa Running Athletics Conference, with thematic areas that include history of running in Kenya and Ethiopia, sociology of running, economics, politics, anthropology, disability, gender and sports for development. The book will be launched in April 2018 in Nairobi
