Wilson Kiprugut put country first in rich career
Daniel arap Moi (left), then Kenya’s Vice-President, congratulates Kipchoge Keino for making the Kenyan team to the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games. Next to Keino are other team members Wilson Kiprugut and Robert Ouko.
What you need to know:
- In his old age, Kiprugut received many visitors, including journalists who wanted to know what made him tick.
- The legendary runner — whose main specialties were the 400 and 800 metres — had tried long distance running which he later abandoned on realising he could not match the likes of fellow legend Nyandika Maiyoro.
Wilson Kiprugut Chumo, the first Kenyan to win an Olympic medal (bronze in the 800 metres) during the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964, will be remembered for his love for sport and country.
In his old age, Kiprugut received many visitors, including journalists who wanted to know what made him tick.
The legendary runner — whose main specialties were the 400 and 800 metres — had tried long distance running which he later abandoned on realising he could not match the likes of fellow legend Nyandika Maiyoro.
Kiprugut, who grew up in Kericho County, began running as a child while at Kaptebeswet Primary School and Sitotwet Intermediate School.
His talent was first identified when he ran at the East and Central Africa Championships where he won 880-yard titles. Those were the days Kiprugut used to say that the white man was feared in everything and nobody thought he could be beaten, especially in international races.
However, Kiprugut and his colleagues decided to be strong and do their best and, to their surprise, beat their rivals by a wide margin.
The combination of hard work and discipline had been key to Kiprugut's great success and he always advised young athletes to emulate him and to remain focused and successful in life, even after retiring from sports.
In June last year, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya honoured him as Kenya's outstanding Olympic trailblazer.
Kiprugut, who was born in 1938, revealed during one of his interviews that none of his nine children followed his footsteps in athletics.
But he hoped some of his grandchildren would be interested in athletics, train hard, apply self-discipline to bring glory to the country.
He remembered Daniel Rudisha, another Kenyan legend in the 400m and 800m races, whose son David Rudisha became an Olympic champion and whose world record in the 800m still stands.
With the modern technology, access to information has been made easy where one just googles the subject and the information comes out.
This way, you can watch recorded Kiprugut races and YouTube, age-old interviews and several photographs at different stages of his life.
He may not have appeared all that desperate during interviews as he utilised the little resources he had well, but had made it known that something needs to be done for retired athletes and other sports personalities in form of a pension scheme.
