Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has ordered an inquiry into the country's disappointing performance at London 2012, where the team won 11 medals, including two gold.

It was actually the third best performance since Kenya made their Olympic debut at Melbourne in 1956 but represented a sharp decline from Beijing four years ago when they finished third in the athletics medals table with 14 medals, including six gold.

This time Kenya's only gold medallists were Ezekiel Kemboi, who won the 3,000 metres steeplechase, and David Rudisha (pictured), who produced arguably the performance of the whole Games by setting a world record as he claimed the 800m. 

"We are proud of Kenya's position as a leading sporting nation," said Kibaki.

"Let us never take that for granted."

Since the end of the Games details of deep divisions between the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) and Athletics Kenya have emerged with the athletes unhappy at being forced to attend a pre-London 2012 training camp in Bristol and at one point allegedly threatening to quit rather than compete in the Olympics.

"The Bristol training was the cause of all the problems," said Julius Kirwa, Kenya's head athletics coach.

Kirwa claimed that NOCK officials tried to dictate athletes' training schedules and tried to sideline the coaches, who he claimed are now being unfairly blamed for the relatively poor performance in London.

He claimed that the only reason the athletes did not walk out of the camp in Bristol was because of the intervention of Kenyan Government official Wilson Lagat, who persuaded them to stay.

"I don't know why they [the athletics coaches] should be blamed yet they are the same ones who took the team to the Beijing Olympics," said Kirwa. 

"The athletes had decided enough was enough and packed to leave for home but I should thank Lagat for his visit since I had tried a lot to keep people together."

Kibaki claimed that personality clashes should not be allowed to undermine Kenya's teams performances in future. 

"They must, therefore, at all times put the needs and aspirations of the sporting fraternity above any other consideration," he said.

Kenya's Sports Minister Paul Otuoma promised a full report into what happened during London 2012.

"We shall not hide anything," he said.

"When the report is prepared we shall release it to the public to know what really happened.

"We will have to make hard decisions to avoid a repeat [of what happened in London]."

By Duncan Mackay

Source: www.insidethegames.biz