Raila: Back Olympics team

By PMPS

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has appealed to Kenyans to rally behind the athletes at the London 2012 Olympics no matter the team’s performance.

Addressing Kenyans at the Kenya House in London ahead of the crucial Thursday races, Raila said Kenyans were unfairly critical of the Olympics team, a development he said could demoralize the athletes.

Social media has been awash with harsh criticism of Team Kenya's performance.

The PM asked Kenyans to embrace the spirit of sport and accept that winning and losing are part of any contest.

Raila said Kenya already has medals to its credit and could win a handful more if the runners are given strong moral support.

“We need to understand that there are nations at this contest who have won no medal so far and could leave empty handed. Let us thank the athletes for what they have won for us and pray for more,” the PM said.

Accompanied by 800 metre gold hopeful at the Thursday race David Rudisha, Raila asked Kenyans to understand that every nation comes to the Olympics to try and beat Kenya.

He said all is not lost as the country could win at least three more medals, including gold, in the remaining races if the athletes get support.

“Everyone thinks it is a great thing to beat Kenyans. They are putting our athletes under pressure and we cannot respond by just being critical of the team,” Raila said.

The PM said the country would need to invest more in training and rewarding of its athletes to be able to contain the emerging threat from other countries keen to beat Kenyans.

The PM at the same time announced that Kenya would bid for the 2024 Olympics and become the first African city to host the Games.