Former world 800m champion Janeth Jepkosgei has warned Kenya against resting on their laurels in athletics as their dominance is under heavy threat from rival countries.

Jepkosgei, who is now a World Athletics-accredited coach, says the days when Kenya was dominating most races are gone as rivals have upped their game in terms of how they prepare with technology among the things they have embraced to boost their performances.

However, Kenya still lags behind when it comes to preparations, and are relying on old methods of training which the 40-year-old feels will prove costly in the end.

“There is a lot of competition coming in and I also manage a small group of athletes coming from Europe. In April, I was in South Africa and I was with athletes from the UK training there and I saw what they were doing and the world is getting ready,” Jepkosgei told NTV’s Spot On.

“Everyone is getting ready and we should not forget that as Kenyans and think that athletics is ours, it is no longer ours. We need to change our minds and change everything.”

Jepkosgei cited the example of the women’s 800m where world champion Mary Moraa is facing stiff competition from Ethiopian Tsigne Duguma, Briton Keely Hodgkinson as well as American Athing Mu.

Hodgkinson and Duguma beat Moraa at the Paris 2024 Olympics, when they claimed gold and silver respectively, while the Kenyan could only manage bronze.

Jepkosgei says that is enough proof that Kenyans need to up their game or risk ending up empty handed in the near future.

“Everyone is training and [Mary] Moraa is a big athlete, she has the talent, she has grown from youth to the senior level and she still has a long way. I expect her to run more than five years on track but now, there is the Ethiopian coming in and in Paris [Olympics] I saw it,” she added.