At age two, Henry Rono had a scary bicycle incident. Doctors thought he was never going to walk again. Yet Rono was tenacious and able to become one of the world’s best long-distance runners. In his career, he faced many ups and downs, but was able to pull through all of them.
“I’ve been to the top of the highest mountain and then down to the bottom of the world,” Rono says.
Rono was born into the Nandi tribe of Kenya. Rono had to quit school to help earn money for his impoverished family. While growing up, Rono was inspired by the Kenyan runner Kipchoge Keino, who was also Nandi. Keino was a mid- and long-distance runner who won the 1500m gold and 5000m silver at the Olympics during Rono’s childhood.
Rono had a talent for running. He was accepted to compete in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, coached by Kipchoge Keino. However, Kenya announced an Olympic boycott and Rono was denied the chance to ever run in the Olympics.
“I thought this man would come home with two golds,” says Keino.
After missing the Olympics, Rono was recruited to Washington State University, along with other Kenyan runners. Though he struggled with the academics, especially English, he ran and trained under Coach John Chaplin.
“I could tell him exactly what to run, exactly how to do it, and he would do it,” Chaplin says.
At the apex of his career, in 1978, Rono annihilated four world records in just 81 days, running the fastest recorded times in the 10,000m, the 5,000m, the 3,000m, and the 3,000m steeplechase.
After that, his career spiraled downward. He began to fritter away his money, and was stolen from, as well. He became an alcoholic, gained weight, and became homeless. These are also problems that plagued other Kenyan athletes. He lived day-to-day, doing lowly jobs to make enough money to survive.
Rono was able take control of the alcohol addiction. He got a better job as a special education coach in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and trained college athletes. He also went back to school to take on the arduous task of learning English. Eventually, he wrote books and poems, such as “Olympic Dream”.
In 2008, Rono won the prestigious World Athletics Inspirational Award. In 2019, made a journey back to his home country, Kenya.
Sources:
https://worldathletics.org/news/news/henry-rono-recovers-his-place-in-history-and
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/sports/henry-rono-world-records.html
“I’ve been to the top of the highest mountain and then down to the bottom of the world,” Rono says.
Rono was born into the Nandi tribe of Kenya. Rono had to quit school to help earn money for his impoverished family. While growing up, Rono was inspired by the Kenyan runner Kipchoge Keino, who was also Nandi. Keino was a mid- and long-distance runner who won the 1500m gold and 5000m silver at the Olympics during Rono’s childhood.
Rono had a talent for running. He was accepted to compete in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, coached by Kipchoge Keino. However, Kenya announced an Olympic boycott and Rono was denied the chance to ever run in the Olympics.
“I thought this man would come home with two golds,” says Keino.
After missing the Olympics, Rono was recruited to Washington State University, along with other Kenyan runners. Though he struggled with the academics, especially English, he ran and trained under Coach John Chaplin.
“I could tell him exactly what to run, exactly how to do it, and he would do it,” Chaplin says.
At the apex of his career, in 1978, Rono annihilated four world records in just 81 days, running the fastest recorded times in the 10,000m, the 5,000m, the 3,000m, and the 3,000m steeplechase.
After that, his career spiraled downward. He began to fritter away his money, and was stolen from, as well. He became an alcoholic, gained weight, and became homeless. These are also problems that plagued other Kenyan athletes. He lived day-to-day, doing lowly jobs to make enough money to survive.
Rono was able take control of the alcohol addiction. He got a better job as a special education coach in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and trained college athletes. He also went back to school to take on the arduous task of learning English. Eventually, he wrote books and poems, such as “Olympic Dream”.
In 2008, Rono won the prestigious World Athletics Inspirational Award. In 2019, made a journey back to his home country, Kenya.
Sources:
https://worldathletics.org/news/news/henry-rono-recovers-his-place-in-history-and
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/sports/henry-rono-world-records.html
