Keino to step down as Kenyan Olympic chief

Nairobi (AFP) - Kenyan Olympic chief Kipchoge Keino said Wednesday he will not stand for re-election during the General Assembly in Nairobi on September 29.

The 77-year-old double Olympic gold medallist has been at the helm of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) since 1999 when he took over from Charles Mukora, who resigned following the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics bribery scandal.

"I believe it is the right time to hand over the baton to someone else. I have served four terms and that's enough," said Keino, whose last term in office has ended in acrimony after four of his top officials were arrested and charged in court with stealing team uniforms and mismanaging the Kenyan athletes at the Rio Olympics in August.

Up until now Keino had insisted he would run for another term at the helm.

But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended funding for sport in Kenya earlier this year after NOCK failed to hold their elections on May 5.

"We need to get new office bearers to take the sport forward. We have a very short time between now and April to prepare our national teams for the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia," Keino said.

Two-time silver medallist and former world marathon record holder Paul Tergat is so far the only candidate seeking to replace Keino in the September 29 vote.