ABSTRACT
Talent identification, recruitment, and development across different fields including business, art, sport, music, and education have attracted significant interest in research. Recruitment and talent identification agencies around the globe spend a significant amount of money to identify talented individuals and match them with the right corporations and the right career path development. East Africans, particularly Kenyan middle- and long-distance runners, have dominated elite sport for over 40 years. Early talent identification and development scholars assessed innate prerequisites for athletic excellence. Pre-adolescent qualities do not automatically predict athletic excellence in adulthood. The unidimensional approach to athletic talent identification and development prompted an increasing number of researchers to consider a multidimensional approach to athletic talent identification and development. The contextual environment surrounding athletes has a significant bearing on their career path and athletic success. Africa, Latin America, and East Asia are amongst the least studied regions of the world when it comes to sport.
