Elizabeth Olaba: Kenya's epitome of athletics longevity
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E-mail Xinhua, August 21, 2013
Most Kenyans and the world indeed, are now familiar with the exploits of Kenya's captain to the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Julius Yego who ranked fourth overall in the javelin event.
Dubbed the "YouTube" athlete owing to having learnt his throwing skills through the internet, the African javelin champion threw a distance of 85.40m in Moscow to set the Kenyan national record.
However, before Yego's advent, a Kenya Prisons officer ruled the roost like the proverbial colossus in field events at a time when the 24-year old Yego was still a toddler.
Elizabeth Olaba, Kenya's foremost thrower in the field events, even in retirement from competitive sports, has no equal in the current crop of javelin, shot-put and discus hurlers.
The burly prisons officer's talent was discovered by a priest while still a primary school pupil in the lakeside town of Kisumu.
"My initial interests were in the sprints and jumping events; areas where I actively represented my secondary schools in," she told Xinhua.
But her big break came in 1973 when she enlisted with the Kenya Prisons Service as a wardress; little did she know that she was enrolling in an institution that would change her course in life.
"I joined the service when the sports culture was less rooted than it is today. I and Herina Malit can be credited with introducing volleyball at Kenya Prisons," the wife of former national team coach Tom Olaba says in reference to her late colleague.
"I also played netball until 1983 when I decided to channel my immense strength to throwing events."
Liz, as she is fondly referred to by colleagues, went to Germany in 1983 to study for a Diploma in Coaching through Walter Abmayr, who had been seconded by the German government through their local embassy to tap talent in Kenya.
From then onwards, it was all systems go and she never looked back. "My coaches in Germany bestowed on me fitting coaching techniques in discuss and shot-put which saw me break all the Kenyan records in the throws upon my return to Kenya in 1984."
Three years later, Olaba set a new African record of 15.38m in the shot-put during the 1987 All Africa Games held in Nairobi. The record stood for eight years until it was broken by a Nigerian thrower in 1995.
During the 1991 All Africa Games in Cairo, Egypt, Olaba missed out of the medal bracket due to what she refers to as "foul play by the Egyptians in favor of their home girl."
She was also in the 1995 All Africa Games contingent to Harare, Zimbabwe after which she retire from active participation and took up coaching.
Olaba was part of the team that represented Kenya at the World Masters in Durban, South Africa where she won gold medal in the shot-put, silver in discuss and bronze in the javelin event. The Masters is open to veteran athletes who are no longer in active competition.
Olaba also participated at the 2007 World Masters in Rome, Italy alongside heptathlon athlete Caroline Kola, 400m hurdler Rose Tata Muya and sprinter Esther Kavaya where they represented the country under the sponsorship of Athletics Kenya.
She was ranked 4th in the shot-put, 4th in the javelin and 5th in the discus. In 2002, Olaba landed a one year coaching stint in Malawi.
Olaba attributes her rise through the ranks to her present status of Superintendent of Prisons to hard work and her love and dedication to duty - a journey through which she has served seven Commissioners of Prisons; all of who she has kind words for.
"Many people marvel at the secret behind the sporting success at the Service. The answer lies partly with the interest and support each successive Commissioner has extended to sportsmen and women. It has been like a relay event where one boss has passed the baton to his successor."
Kenya Prisons Service has produced some of Kenya's leading sportsmen and women among them, the great Ben Jipcho; Robert Ouko, member of the 1972 Olympic 4x400m gold medal winning quartet; world champions Catherine Ndereba, Luke Kibet Edith Masai and Abel Kirui to mention but a few.
Although Olaba has a rich resume in the world of sports both locally and internationally, the gold medal she won at the 1987 All Africa Games remains her biggest achievement.
"It is only those who have stood at the podium to receive the gold medal who can share in the feeling that I felt when the national anthem was played in my honor," Olaba said.
"It is a hilarious moment that remains etched on one's mind forever. The tears you see rolling down the cheeks of medalists amidst the background of their country's National Anthem is an innate occurrence that cannot be explained," she noted.
"The elation is heightened when you consider that the whole arena has come to a standstill because of you. The exultation intensifies when you discern that the whole world is watching you live on television." Enditem
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