Kenya has won 113 Olympic medals, 35 of them gold., of which 106 came from athletics and only the other seven from boxing. And every story has a beginning, the one written at the Tokyo Games in 1964 by the middle-distance runner Wilson Chuma Kiprugut, who died last Tuesday, November 1, in a hospital near Kerichohis hometown now 84 years old.

Kiprugut won the first Olympic medal in Kenya’s history, bronze in the 800m at these Games., behind legendary New Zealander Peter Snell and Canadian Bill Crothers. In this event, he equaled the Olympic record in the semi-finals with 1:46.1, along with Jamaican George Kerr, and became the first African in the final to go below 1:46 at the distance. of the two laps after running to take the lead on the first lap (52s) and eventually give way. In Tokyo, the Kenyan also ran the 400m, but without advancing.

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Four years later, at the height of the miracles of Mexico 68, a 30-year-old Kiprugut repeated the final, the only one who remained there with the American Tom Farrell. The Kenyan set the tone in the lead from the start until after 700 meters, but his figure collapsed in the final straight, where couldn’t resist the onslaught of Australian Ralph Doubell, who equaled the world record with 1:44.40. Kiprugut clocked a career-best 1:44.57 and Farrell clocked a career-best 1:45.46.

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Olympic silver and bronze, Kiprugut missed the opportunity to also be the first Kenyan Olympic champion, who had already played the anthem three times in Mexico (Naftali Temu, Amos Biwott and Kip Keino), and dropped out in this race. “Chuma was one of those athletes who put Kenya on the world map. It is a sad day for the country and for the world of athletics. He was an extraordinary man,” said Kenyan athletics boss Jackson Tuwei.

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Wilson Chuma Kiprugut, recalls World Athletics, started running at Kaptebeswet School and Sitowet High School as a 400m runner, an event he competed in at the 1958 East African Championships, where he was discovered by the Kenyan army, who promoted him to sergeant. Four years later he traveled to Perth, Australia for the Commonwealth Games and two years later after winning the African Championships he was selected from 11 Olympians to travel to Tokyo.

Between the two Olympic editions, he also won the 400 and 800 m at the 1965 African Championships and silver in the 880 yards (804 m) at the Commonwealth Games in Kingston (Jamaica) in 1966, then again at the tournament. from Africa for the next two years.

Kiprugut then worked as a physical trainer in the Kenyan army for five years, then as a tea plantation supervisor for the British multinational Unilever in his Kericho.