A small town called Iten, located in Elgeyo Marakwet has been in the limelight for much of its existence for good reasons. Most of the well-known athletes who have had illustrious success in the athletics field have hailed from Iten.
This has attracted athletes from all walks of life to gulp the success charms that have worked on most of the athletes that reside.
Koen Naert- a 34-year-old Belgian marathon athlete has been one of the oversee athletes to reside at Iten to gain ‘marathon advantage’
Having already secured an Olympic Slot after dropping a personal best (2:06:56) in the Rotterdam Marathon, Naert vows to rinse all the superstition from Iten as he gears for the Paris Olympics.
He states that his decision to reside in Iten was like a fish in water. He had a discourse with Athletics Weekly.
“Since 2021 however, I’ve found my spot in Iten. I waited a long time to go to Kenya because I was a little bit afraid of the food and life there but once you are on the ground, there’s no distraction and it’s a bit like living like a monk on a mountain,” he told Athletics Weekly.
Speaking on his chances of making it to the podium in the upcoming Olympics, he was a bit skeptical with sprinkles of hope.
“However, sometimes miracles exist, and you never know. It will be challenging with the weather and the course. I will prepare myself the best I can but the top eight is my absolute goal. I was pretty close in Tokyo, but we will see, and every race/championship is different,” he said.
