Kenya's Boit out to heat winter Olympics

NAIROBI

Kenya’s sole competitor at next month’s winter Olympics, cross-country skier Philip Boit, has improved his times since his last three Games and wants to show that his snow-starved country can produce respectable results.

Boit, who in 1998 became the first Kenyan to compete at a winter Olympics, finishing last in his race, will ski in the 15km cross-country event at the February 12-28 Vancouver Games.

“I want to finish my race in a respectable position before considering retirement. My past finishes have not been quite good but I am determined to change this in Vancouver,” Boit, 38, said before he flew out to Canada on Tuesday. “I trained well in Finland last year and even took part in the World Championships.”

Improved personal best

Over the years, Boit has improved his personal best for 10km to 25 minutes 10 seconds from 30:31, as well as 39:15 for the 15km down from 47:26. The only snow in Kenya is at the peak of Mount Kenya, so Boit has had to adapt his training to his surroundings, running morning and evening rather than skiing when he is at home.

Originally a middle-distance runner, Boit switched to skiing in 1996 after American sports apparel manufacturer Nike started a programme with the National Olympic Committee of Kenya to develop winter sports. His Olympic debut was at the 1998 Games in Nagano, where he finished last in the 10km cross country.

“I was not disappointed because, although I was last, I finished the race. [Norwegian eight-time Olympic gold medallist] Bjorn Daehlie commended my effort,” Boit said. This encouraged him so much that he named his son after the Norwegian.

Sponsorship dried up

The Nike sponsorship, which enabled him to train in Finland, soon dried up and he had to fund his own training. He was back at Salt Lake City in 2002 and Turin in 2006, improving on his previous result but still finishing near the back of the field.