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Athletics is one of the sports affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but one track coach in Eldoret has found a way to cope after his source of steady income fell into jeopardy.

Nahashon Kibon has turned to agribusiness as he awaits for return to normalcy for him to go back to training.   

Kibon keeps livestock and grows crops at his farm in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.  

“I keep cows for milk and rear kienyeji chicken. This is the business I started not long ago,” said Kibon.

 He added that he also grows onions, oranges and lately apples. 

Kibon says he has been able to earn a reasonable amount of income from his ventures since athletic events were disrupted by the coronavirus crisis.

 “I sell milk to the processor while some is for home consumption. This has enabled me to earn extra money.” 

 He is also reaping from poultry farming from which he supplies meat and eggs to hotels and shops. 

He also earns a tidy sum from his onions and oranges.  Kibon said that the need to secure his future informed his decision to venture into agribusiness.

“The work I am engaged in right now may not last and I need to plan ahead for another stream of income.” 

 He is among others in the sport who serve as a role model.

 Stories are told of athletes who won huge race proceeds but later got impoverished because they failed to invest.

 “Athletics pays well and one can easily forget that an athlete’s career is short term. You need to plan how to invest to enable you to continue getting income after retirement,” Kibon advises.

Many athletes wake up to a windfall, quickly changing their lifestyles and start wasting money because they lack investment know-how.

However, the trend is changing slowly with several athletes investing in Eldoret and parts of the country.

 “What is the need of having money after winning some races yet you can’t even buy a cow to give you milk later. I want to challenge athletes or anyone to invest either in real estate or agribusinesses, or any other venture that is profitable.”

Recently Athletics Kenya and the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation distributed foodstuff to vulnerable athletes owing to the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.