Kenyan-born Olympians flying other flags
The Olympic flame at the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympics. Not all Olympians in the quest for gold retain allegiance to their country of birth. These are some prominent Kenyans who have changed sides.
Under the Turkish flag
Over 30 former Kenyan runners are competing for adopted nations rather than their country of birth at the Rio Olympics. They include European gold medal winner Polat Kemboi Arikan (left) and runner-up Ali Kaya (right) who will represent Turkey in the men's 10,000 meters, the Turkish Daily News website reported.
Turkish citizen since 2011
Kenyan-born Tarik Langat Akdag (Patrick Kipkirui) runs for Turkey in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase. He acquired Turkish citizenship in 2011 and is a European silver medalist (2012) and Olympic finalist (2012) in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, the European Athletics website noted.
Olympics for Kenya and the US
Rio will be 41-year-old Bernard Lagat's (5,000 meters) fifth Olympics, two for Kenya (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004) and the three for the US (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016), Standard Digital reported.
Join the army, represent the US at Rio
Paul Chelimo (right), seen here with Bernard Lagat, is from Iten in Kenya. He told AP he enlisted in the US Army, earned US citizenship and trained with the Army's World Class Athlete Program. He will be competing in the men's 5,000 meters. Fellow Kenyan-born US soldier-athletes at Rio include Leonard Korir (10,000m) Shadrack Kipchirchir (10,000m) and Hillary Bor (3,000m steeplechase).
800 meters for Bahrain
22-year-old Kenyan born Abraham Kipchirchir Rotich (center) is competing for Bahrain in the men's 800 meters. He is seen here with Mark English and Mostafa Smaili at the Liege athletics meeting in July.
3,000 meters for Bahrain
Kenyan-born Ruth Jebet competes for Bahrain in the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase and she's widely tipped to win, said Kenya's Daily Star website. She won gold at the 2013 Asian Championships and at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in the US, the Kenyan paper The Nation noted.
A marathon to remember
Kenyan-born athlete Lucia Kimani-Marcetic is running in the women's marathon. She is the first Bosnian athlete ever to compete in three Olympic Games, the AfricaNews website reported. In 2004, she was an unknown Kenyan runner taking part in the Salzburg marathon. There she met her future husband and fellow athlete, Sinisa Marcetic.