Despite setbacks ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games, Kenya will leave Beijing in glory after capturing 5 gold medals, 5 silvers and four bronze in distance running.

Kenya’s hope for an Olympic marathon medal were dealt a blow when Robert Cheruiyot pulled out due to injury and three-times London marathon winner Martin Lel’s training was affected by flu. But Sammy Wanjiru saved the day and brought the marathon gold medal, proof that distance running is Africa’s forte.

Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world, collected four gold, one silver and 2 bronze medals, showing that poverty does not have to stand in the way of great sportsmanship. Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele both cruised to victory for the 10,000 and 5,000 metres, the first time the double has been achieved since the 1980 Games.

Kenya’s assistant athletics coach put it down to dealing with hardships from a young age and altitude, which helps the athletes deal with hot conditions.

“Our athletes have to walk long distances from a very young age to go to school unlike those in developed countries, so they just get used to it quite early,” Peter Mathu told Reuters. “We are very good at long distance because of the hardships we face. Training at high altitudes has also helped.”

Kenya and Ethiopia’s Olympic success stems from focusing on what they do best and a strong culture of athletics. While other countries see sports as a diversion Mathu said they start identifying and nurturing talent from Primary school.

Kenya and Ethiopia’s victory contrasts the underperformance of bigger teams such as Nigeria and South Africa, the latter having some of the best developed facilities on the continent.

Nigeria’s team official Dony Nezianya was candid in admitting that Africa could learn from Kenya and Ethiopia. “Most of it is just better planning. Kenyans and Ethiopians work very hard at developing their talent and raising the level of their performance,” he said.

Nigeria got three bronze medals in women’s long jump and 4×100 metres relay and heavyweight taekwondo and a silver from soccer.

“We had expected to perform better so this calls for sober reflection on our part,” he said.

Perhaps embarrassed by getting only one silver medal in long jump after sending the biggest team ever to the Olympics, South Africans did not want to comment.

But sports development looked set to remain a challenge for the continent where funds are directed to more pressing issues as millions live in abject poverty. Athletes that are now competing for other countries on lucrative deals say the migration could continue if earning a living as remains difficult.

PHOTO: Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia leads the pack on her way to winning the women’s 5000m final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 22, 2008. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

I respect Paula Radcliffe for finishing the Olympic marathon, especially since she was clearly in agonising pain, but I don’t understand her decision to race in the first place.

The Olympics seem to be an excuse for thinking you can do anything to your body without paying a price. But there is a price and the problem is that athletes pay it once the cameras stop rolling.

During my time as an athlete I had a stress fractured femur, the same injury Radcliffe had to overcome.

It was just horribly painful. Once it had healed, a process that took about eight weeks, I could run just two minutes and increase my workload by two minutes every two days.

It was a long road but I bet Paula will now have an even longer road to get back to full recovery … and it’s just beginning.

“I was trying to achieve the impossible because the amount of running I had done wasn’t enough and you can’t take short-cuts in the marathon,” said the 34-year-old said, who has not ruled out one more try for an Olympic medal at London in 2012, where she could expect great support from the home crowd.

“We’ll keep fingers crossed for 2012,” she added.

NOTE: Balazs Koranyi was an Olympic semi-finalist in the 800m at the 1996 and 2000 Games for Hungary and since 2004 has been a correspondent for Reuters.

PHOTO: Paula Radcliffe of Britain approaches the finish line of the women’s marathon at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Stadium August 17, 2008. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

There was good news for Britain on Monday as Paula Radcliffe talked up her chances of being fit enough to run the marathon at the Beijing Games.

“I’m racing unless my leg breaks down,” Radcliffe, 34, told reporters four days before the start of the Olympics and 13 days before the women’s race on August 17. 

Radcliffe, the world record holder, is getting over a stress fracture to her left femur and on Monday she sounded confident of taking part.

“I am happy to be here and to have got this far and I’m looking forward to starting the marathon,” she told the BBC in Beijing.

Click here for the full story.