Born in 1952 in Kenya, Henry Rono had a bike accident that left him incapable of walking until he was 6. Around that time, his father also died from a tractor incident. Because of this, Rono’s family struggled while he was growing up, and he was always in and out of school. His interest in running began when he finished 7th grade at 19 years old.
Rono was subsequently drafted by the army and did a lot of training. In the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Rono was set to run for the Kenyan team, but due to the Kenyan Government going on a boycott to protest the involvement of New Zealand, Rono had to miss the games.
He ended up going to Pullman, Washington, where he met a coach, John Chaplin. Chaplin was building a team of Kenyan runners. Moving to the United States was a struggle for Rono, running was his way of “releasing tension”. He easily won numerous racing competitions.
“I could tell him exactly what to run, exactly how to do it, and he would do it,” Chaplin said.
However, things took a turn in the 1980s, as although Rono had a college degree and a contract with Nike, he started to drink heavily and became more careless with his money. He was tricked and robbed on multiple occasions and went to rehab multiple times.
In 1981, he got drunk the night before he was supposed to run a 5000m in Knarvik, the next day, he ran to get over the hangover and set a world record of 13:06.20. Unfortunately, it was the last record that he ever set, and he couldn’t go to the 1984 Olympics.
In the 1990s, he settled in New Mexico and was a special-education coach. He instructed students in the Navajo Nations and Albuquerque. Kris Houghton and Solomon Kandie, two of his students have set personal bests under his directions, they depicted him as a “wise sage”.
Rono went back to school and took classes in creative writing, advanced grammar, and poetry. In 2010, finally sober, he published a book titled “Olympic Dream”. Ultimately, in 2019, he went back home to Kenya.
“What I am doing in my life right now is like a gold medal to me. The issue of not going to the 1980 Olympics is now behind me and so too are the problems I had for 21 years from 1978.” Rono says.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/sports/henry-rono-world-records.html
https://worldathletics.org/news/news/henry-rono-recovers-his-place-in-history-and
Rono was subsequently drafted by the army and did a lot of training. In the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Rono was set to run for the Kenyan team, but due to the Kenyan Government going on a boycott to protest the involvement of New Zealand, Rono had to miss the games.
He ended up going to Pullman, Washington, where he met a coach, John Chaplin. Chaplin was building a team of Kenyan runners. Moving to the United States was a struggle for Rono, running was his way of “releasing tension”. He easily won numerous racing competitions.
“I could tell him exactly what to run, exactly how to do it, and he would do it,” Chaplin said.
However, things took a turn in the 1980s, as although Rono had a college degree and a contract with Nike, he started to drink heavily and became more careless with his money. He was tricked and robbed on multiple occasions and went to rehab multiple times.
In 1981, he got drunk the night before he was supposed to run a 5000m in Knarvik, the next day, he ran to get over the hangover and set a world record of 13:06.20. Unfortunately, it was the last record that he ever set, and he couldn’t go to the 1984 Olympics.
In the 1990s, he settled in New Mexico and was a special-education coach. He instructed students in the Navajo Nations and Albuquerque. Kris Houghton and Solomon Kandie, two of his students have set personal bests under his directions, they depicted him as a “wise sage”.
Rono went back to school and took classes in creative writing, advanced grammar, and poetry. In 2010, finally sober, he published a book titled “Olympic Dream”. Ultimately, in 2019, he went back home to Kenya.
“What I am doing in my life right now is like a gold medal to me. The issue of not going to the 1980 Olympics is now behind me and so too are the problems I had for 21 years from 1978.” Rono says.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/sports/henry-rono-world-records.html
https://worldathletics.org/news/news/henry-rono-recovers-his-place-in-history-and
