NAIROBI, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has waded into the murky decision by the IAAF to eliminate the 5,000m race from the lucrative Diamond League.
Kipchoge said the race was 'important and helped him' attain what he has achieved in athletics and that discontinuing it from the Diamond League would be catastrophic to the career of many young athletes in Africa.
Speaking in Eldoret on Thursday, Kipchoge, who holds the world marathon record of 2:1:39hrs, says the event is critical to longevity of many athletes' careers and should not be removed.
"The 5000m has been crucial for my career and has helped me to become the athlete I am today. I believe in long term careers where track and field can lead to a great marathon career," said Kipchoge on Thursday.
The Confederation of Africa Athletics (CAA) says it will discuss the matter during its congress in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire on April 15 during the continent's junior championships.
Already Kenya and Ethiopia, who have a majority of athletes competing in the 5,000m and 10,000m races, have written to IAAF to express their disgust.
But Kipchoge is hopeful that the decision, which is to be effected starting from the 2020 season, will be dropped and the 14-leg Diamond League can continue to host the races in its meetings across Asia, Africa, Europe and the United States.
"I hope future athletes will have the possibility to follow this exact same path in their careers. Start from track competition before graduating to marathon and road races," said Kipchoge.
The London and Berlin marathon champion has only lost one race since graduating to the 42km distance back in 2013 when he made his debut in the German Capital. He is preparing for the defense of his title in London on April 28.
Former World cross country five-time champion Paul Tergat, world 5,000m champion and Diamond League trophy champion Hellen Obiri and Ethiopia's legend Haile Gebresselasie have all castigated the move by the IAAF.
Obiri said the new changes will hamper the progress of young talents in Kenya and Africa.
"The removal of 5,000m is not a good idea. It is targeting Africans negatively. The young athletes will also be greatly affected since they will be denied a platform to showcase their talents," said Obiri.
"If they proceed with that (changes) then there is no need to remain in track, I will probably shift to road races," he added.
