Adala reminisces about her sprinting exploits
With the exclusive reputation of being the first female athlete to break two national records – 100m (11.7) and 200m (24.3) – it is safe to say Alice Adala is a legend and a living monument of Kenya’s reputation as an athletics powerhouse.
Throughout her career Adala had to contend with snide remarks from naysayers who tried to discourage her from pursuing her passion.
In a society that exalts motherhood above all else, her love for sprinting attracted criticism from certain quarters who felt she was getting her priorities upside down.
However, looking at the accolades she collected throughout her career, Adala undoubtedly had the last laugh.
“I would be told that I will not make it as a sprinter and that I would not be able to get married and have children. I am happy I proved them wrong and even got married and had three children,” Adala said.
Born of sporting parents, Adala knew where her destiny lay and begun to prepare for the day when she would grace the tracks.
“Whenever I was sent to fetch water in my rural area, I would literally run. I would be running and jumping over shrubs as if they hurdle,” she recalled.
“My mother was an athlete and my father was a swimmer.Our parents would take us to sports events in Kisumu and this heightened my interests to my talent,” Adala said.
School championships
While at Kisumu Union Primary School in 1965, she excelled at the school championships where she competed with Lydia Stephens and June Kenyatta even though she had been running barefoot.
In 1976 she broke two national records and earned the ticket to represent Kenya at the Olympic games in Montreal, Canada.
However, Team Kenya returned home after 29 African countries boycotted the games.
The International Olympic Committee had refused to ban New Zealand from the competition after their rugby team visited apartheid-era South Africa in contravention of a sporting embargo imposed by the United Nations.
“It was very disappointing and sad to come back home without competing.You can imagine preparing for the Olympics, qualifying for it and not being able to compete,” she recounted.
Adala picked herself up quickly and bounced back with a gold in the women’s 100m at Senior Africa Athletics Championships in Cairo, Egypt in 1982.
That remains her most favourite moment considering the calibre of the opposition she had to beat on her way to the finish line.
Although they may not be runners, Adala’s three children have taken after her as a sportsperson.
One of her sons, Kevin Otieno, is a hockey player who has plied his trade for Kenya Police.
Her youngest son, Edward Oduor, is a basketballer as is Patrick Odhiambo who has turned out for the national team in the past.
Sadly, Adala feels that the Nyanza region has fallen into a deep slumber despite the depth of talent in sprints and field events.
She attributed this to a change in perception towards the sport and a lack of seriousness from the relevant authorities to nurture talent.