World Athletics blocks Brigid Kosgei's bid to run for Turkey as Kenyan athlete exodus accelerates

World Athletics has put a stop—at least for now—to one of the most controversial chapters in Kenyan athletics: the mass exodus of elite runners to Gulf and Middle Eastern nations offering lucrative citizenship deals.

On April 17, the global governing body rejected applications from five prominent Kenyan athletes seeking to represent Turkey in international competition. The group includes Brigid Kosgei, the former women's marathon world record holder, and Ronald Kwemoi, a Kenyan distance runner who has represented Kenya at multiple World Championships.

The other three athletes are Catherine Relin Amanang'ole, who won bronze in the half-marathon at the 2023 World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia; Brian Kibor; and Nelvin Jepkemboi. All five had applied to switch their sporting nationality to Turkey, according to the Daily Nation.

Why Kenyan athletes are looking abroad

The attempted defections are part of a broader pattern that has vexed Kenyan athletics officials for years. Talent-rich but cash-strapped compared to oil-wealthy Gulf states, Kenya has watched dozens of its athletes accept citizenship from Bahrain, Qatar, Kazakhstan, and Turkey in exchange for guaranteed salaries, training support, and reduced competition for national team spots.

Winfred Yavi, born in Nairobi, Kenya on December 31, 1999, took up Bahraini citizenship in 2015 after she "unsuccessfully tried to make the Kenyan team and sought opportunities elsewhere," she said in a 2025 interview. She became eligible to compete for Bahrain in 2016 and won gold for the Gulf nation in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She won the gold medal at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

Norah Jeruto, another Kenyan-born steeplechaser, switched to Kazakhstan in 2022 and won the world title that year in Eugene, Oregon—becoming the first athlete representing Kazakhstan to win a World Athletics Championship. Ruth Jebet, who represented Bahrain, and Wilson Kipketer, who competed for Denmark, are among the most prominent names in a list that now spans decades.

The financial calculus

For many athletes, the decision is pragmatic. Kenya fields the deepest roster of distance runners on the planet, meaning Olympic and World Championship berths are fiercely contested. A runner who might finish fifth or sixth at Kenyan trials could be a guaranteed national champion for a smaller nation—with a monthly stipend, housing, and world-class coaching thrown in.

Bahrain, Qatar, and Turkey have invested heavily in naturalizing African athletes, particularly in distance running and steeplechase events where East Africans dominate. The athletes often retain strong ties to Kenya, training in Iten, Eldoret, or Kapsabet while competing under another flag.

What World Athletics is trying to stop

The rejections of Kosgei and her colleagues signal that World Athletics is tightening enforcement of its transfer rules, which require athletes to demonstrate "genuine links" to a new country and impose waiting periods before they can compete internationally. The governing body has faced criticism for allowing what some see as mercenary transfers that dilute the integrity of national representation.

Kosgei, 30, set the women's marathon world record of 2:14:04 in Chicago in 2019, a mark that stood until Ethiopia's Tigist Assefa broke it in Berlin in 2023. She won the London Marathon in 2019 and 2020 and remains one of the most decorated female marathoners of her generation. Her attempted switch to Turkey raised eyebrows in Kenyan athletics circles, where she is still considered a national hero.

What comes next

The rejections are not necessarily final. Athletes can reapply after addressing whatever deficiencies World Athletics identified in their initial submissions—whether related to residency, documentation, or the timing of their transfer requests. But the public rebuke sends a message: the era of easy citizenship shopping may be ending.

For the Kenyan diaspora, the story cuts both ways. On one hand, it's painful to watch homegrown talent compete for rival nations. On the other, many Kenyans abroad understand the economic pressures that drive these decisions. The real question is whether Athletics Kenya and the government can create incentives strong enough to keep future stars at home.

Kosgei has not publicly commented on the rejection. Her next race—and which flag she'll run under—remains to be seen.