Four Kenyan-born athletes have been granted Kazakhstan citizenship to represent the country at the international level, Kenyan news agency, PulseLive Kenya reports.
Norah Jeruto, Daisy Jepkemei, Shadrack Koech, and Caroline Chepkoech switched their international allegiance in a bid to get more opportunities to compete on the global stage.
The four who had already taken an oath to denounce their country of birth had initially been denied an opportunity to represent the ninth largest nation in the world but are now legible after World Athletics approved their switch of allegiance.
Jeruto's move to transfer allegiance comes as a shock for many as she opened the year with an impressive win at the Valencia 10km run in Spain as well as the Discovery Kenya Cross Country Championship in Eldoret.
Rule 1.4.2 of the World Athletics Charter states that athletes who gain new citizenship or wish to change their status can do so if three years have passed since they competed for their previous country.
It has become the norm to see Kenyan-born athletes line up for other nations at major competitions around the world.
Kenyan athletes have competed for countries including the USA, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and several others.
Several Kenyan athletes have represented Bahrain including Ruth Jebet who switched nationalities as a 16-year old in 2013, and in the Rio 2016 Olympics won Bahrain’s first Gold medal, in the 3000m Women’s Steeplechase.
Four Kenyan-born athletes who represented the USA in the Rio 2016 Olympics were part of a U.S Army program that offered them world-class athletics training in exchange for their allegiance.
For Kazakhstan, an influx of athletic talents raises chances of winning in categories that have not been previously conquered before.
