First Kenyan to win Olympic medal led the way for his country’s later success
Wilson Kiprugut, who has died aged 84, became Kenya’s first Olympic medallist when he won bronze behind New Zealand’s Peter Snell in the 800 metres in Tokyo in 1964, less than a year after his country became independent; he went one better four years later when he won silver in Mexico City.
Since that first triumph 58 years ago, there have been 113 more Kenyan visits to the Olympic podium (106 of them in athletics), but it was Kiprugut who opened the floodgates. ‘‘Back then, even in international races, we really feared the white man,’’ Kiprugut recalled.
‘‘We thought he was powerful in everything and that no African could outrun him.
To bag a bronze medal back then was no mean feat as we lacked proper training facilities, professional coaches and even running shoes.’’
Wilson Arap Chuma Kiprugut was born in the town of Kericho, in the far west of Kenya. His exact date of birth was not recorded.
He began running as a schoolboy. ‘‘I used to make a round trip of 40 kilometres each day to school, a thing that helped me to develop my running ability and enhanced my athletics stamina,’’ he recalled.
Indeed, he started out as a long-distance runner before concluding he had more chance in shorter events. In 1958 he competed in his first East and Central African Championship, at which he was spotted by army scouts and recruited into the African Rifles, on the basis that he would be able to devote himself largely to athletics (he eventually rose to the rank of sergeant).
In 1962 he was in the Kenyan team that finished fifth in the 4x440 yards relay at the Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia – he always maintained that a bout of sickness in the team put them out of the medals – and he was eliminated in the 440 yards heats. But two years later came his chance to shine.
In Tokyo in 1964 he went out of the 400m in the quarter-finals, but was amply compensated by bronze in the 800m; Snell took gold, ahead of the Canadian Bill Crothers. Kiprugut blamed a shove from the Jamaican runner George Kerr for his failure to finish better than third.
‘‘I was the one who led the tightly packed field at 200 and at 400,’’ he recalled. ‘‘When Kerr pushed me, I was lucky to be strong and of good stamina, otherwise I would have fallen by the tracks.’’
More medals began to come Kiprugut’s way, and in 1965, at the inaugural All-Africa Games, at Brazzaville in Congo, he won double gold, in the 400m and 800m. In 1966, at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Kingston in Jamaica, he won silver in the 880 yards.
It was at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City that Kenyan athletics finally came storming out of the blocks: 11 track medals were won in six events, including gold in the 1500m, 3000m steeplechase and the 10,000m.
Kip Keino was the Kenyan star, winning the 1500m and taking silver in the 5000m. Naftali Temu took gold in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5000m.
In his final big championship, Kiprugut was one of the favourites for the 800m and progressed through his heats with ease. He led for most of the way in the final before being overhauled on the final bend by Ralph Doubell, of Australia.
Doubell’s winning time of 1min 44.3sec equalled the world record, while Kiprugut’s was the third-fastest performance in history at that time and an African record that stood until 1974.
After Kiprugut’s death, Doubell commented in a tribute article on the World Athletics website: ‘‘Wilson was one of the founders of Kenyan middle-distance running dominance. As a competitor he was fast, strong and fearless – three characteristics which are still displayed by Kenyan athletes today.’’
Kiprugut retired from the track in 1969, remaining with the army as a fitness instructor for another five years. He later worked as a supervisor on a tea plantation for Unilever near his home town as well as running his own farm.
His youngest son, Kipngeno, recalled that he was known for his generosity at the family’s homestead: ‘‘He never chased anyone away . . . For visitors who were passing by to other destinations and did not have enough money to travel, he would dig into his pocket and provide them money for transport.’’
His fame endured, and in 2010 he was named Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year. Kericho Green Stadium was renamed Wilson Kiprugut Chumo Stadium.
Wilson Kiprugut’s wife predeceased him; the couple had nine children. –
‘‘I used to make a round trip of 40 kilometres each day to school, a thing that helped me to develop my running ability and enhanced my athletics stamina.’’