HEROES of RUNNING
WE SALUTE OUR SPORTS TRULY INSPIRATIONAL FIGURES OF THE LAST YEAR
BETWEEN THE MID- 90S AND LATE NOUGHTIES, TEGLA LOROUPE
dominated the marathon world, winning over 26.2 miles in London, Boston, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Berlin, Leipzig, Lausanne, New York (twice) and Rome. A former world record holder over the distance, she still has the fastest times over 20, 25, and 30 kilometres.
But today, the 44-yearold Kenyan is much more interested in promoting her humanitarian work than in talking about her running achievements. A Peace Ambassador for the UN, UNICEF and the IAAF, she’s also the founder of the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation, formed in 2003, which works to improve the lives of those in some of the world’s poorest countries.
‘I grew in up the mountains but eventually my running brought me into contact with the world outside my community,’ she says. ‘I realised how much we had to do to make a better world for ourselves. Later, as I began to see poor communities like my own in Darfur, in Mumbai, in Brazil, I realised how important it is for us all to dedicate a part of ourselves to helping others become all they can be.’
The foundation fights on issues such as poverty, child marriage, female genital mutilation and free education for all.
‘These are things worth fighting for everywhere in the world and perhaps our fight, in our small area, may give courage and inspiration to someone somewhere else in the world,’ says Loroupe.
In 2016, Loroupe served as Chef De Mission for the Athlete Refugee Team that competed in the Rio Olympics; she put together and mentored a squad of displaced athletes who competed under their own flag to the acclaim of a global audience, but the ever-modest Louroupe insists it is they, and not she, who deserve the praise.
‘For me, the heroes are the athletes of the Athlete Refugee Team,’ she says. ‘Those are the ones who achieve something, who get somewhere from nowhere. They have experienced so many hard things in their lives, but they are better people than many of us. They are positive and still have faith and believe in their future. These are the true heroes.’ Agreed, but it takes one to know one.