Henry Rono was once one of the greatest runner’s to ever enter the category, setting many records in the span of less than a year. Degraded by his addiction to alcohol, he lost his valor and years passed without any athletic activity from him, almost like he had vanished.
Throughout the early 2000’s he slowly started to recuperate and received the IAAF (International Amataur Athletic Federation) Inspirational Award in 2008. After reaching the age of 70, Rono believes that he’s accomplished everything he wanted to in life.
Rono was born to Nandi Hills, Kenya, as a part of the Nandi Tribe. As a child, he aspired to be a runner starting from primary school. Along with his friend Samson Kimobwa, who broke the 10,000 meter world record in 1977, he enrolled at Washington State University, where Rono’s talent at running would shine. He was taught by head coach John Chaplin and made quick work of many long-distance records. Being a college student, he was a part of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and became the third in history to win the NCAA Cross Country Championship at Washington State. His winning time of 28:07 still stands even today, as the record for NCAA cross country time in Washington State.
The peak of his career was 1978, where he crushed four world records in 81 days, as well as breaking many others later in the year. The records he broke were the 10k, 5k, 3k steeplechase, and 3k. Steeplechase is an obstacle race, originating from the similarly named horse race. A 3k steeplechase is defined by having 28 barriers and seven water jumps. His 10k record was 8 seconds faster than the previous record, his 5k was 4.5 seconds faster than the previous, his 3k by 3 seconds, and his 3k steeplechase by 2.6 seconds.
Later in July, at the All-Africa games, he won the 10k and 3k steeplechase gold medals. One month later, he won the 5k and 3k steeplechase gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Canada at Edmonton. Along with setting two records for the NCAA in one day, Rono made his name famous throughout the world as a talented runner.
Unfortunately, Kenya boycotted the Olympics in 1976 and 1980, and when they joined back in 1984, Rono was already addicted to alcoholism and his extra weight prevented him from doing much running at all. A popular story is that Rono ran for one hour in the morning before a race to get rid of a hangover. While the story has been proven false by Rono, he claims that the story was passed around as a testament to his former athletic ability. Throughout the years between 1978 and 1984, he broke many more records such as, the 5k, 10k, 5k again, which is the third fastest 5k, and a 4k steeplechase which stood for eleven years. It still stands as the collegiate world record, over 4 decades later.
Rono has made many mistakes throughout his life. One of his greatest regrets is being unable to participate in the Olympics due to Kenya boycotting them. Present-day Rono says, “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. The successes of the Kenyan team at the last Olympics in Beijing were also like the gold medal I didn’t get in 1980.” Plagued by homelessness and drunk driving arrests, Rono had to work at many poor-paying and sketchy jobs to stay afloat.
Finally catching a grip after 15 years in the 1990’s, he slowly recuperated and became a coach of high school athletics in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “I’m a recovering alcoholic but I’ve been sober for the last seven years. I believe I’ve recovered my dignity and my place in society,” says Rono. According to him, he was once at “the top of the highest mountain and then down to the bottom of the world”. In 2019, he finally returned to Kenya and settled into the same plot of land from his childhood. Rono doesn’t do much running anymore, and only goes on small trips to the sauna and church. Even so, Rono feels content with how far he got with his running career.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rono
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
Throughout the early 2000’s he slowly started to recuperate and received the IAAF (International Amataur Athletic Federation) Inspirational Award in 2008. After reaching the age of 70, Rono believes that he’s accomplished everything he wanted to in life.
Rono was born to Nandi Hills, Kenya, as a part of the Nandi Tribe. As a child, he aspired to be a runner starting from primary school. Along with his friend Samson Kimobwa, who broke the 10,000 meter world record in 1977, he enrolled at Washington State University, where Rono’s talent at running would shine. He was taught by head coach John Chaplin and made quick work of many long-distance records. Being a college student, he was a part of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and became the third in history to win the NCAA Cross Country Championship at Washington State. His winning time of 28:07 still stands even today, as the record for NCAA cross country time in Washington State.
The peak of his career was 1978, where he crushed four world records in 81 days, as well as breaking many others later in the year. The records he broke were the 10k, 5k, 3k steeplechase, and 3k. Steeplechase is an obstacle race, originating from the similarly named horse race. A 3k steeplechase is defined by having 28 barriers and seven water jumps. His 10k record was 8 seconds faster than the previous record, his 5k was 4.5 seconds faster than the previous, his 3k by 3 seconds, and his 3k steeplechase by 2.6 seconds.
Later in July, at the All-Africa games, he won the 10k and 3k steeplechase gold medals. One month later, he won the 5k and 3k steeplechase gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Canada at Edmonton. Along with setting two records for the NCAA in one day, Rono made his name famous throughout the world as a talented runner.
Unfortunately, Kenya boycotted the Olympics in 1976 and 1980, and when they joined back in 1984, Rono was already addicted to alcoholism and his extra weight prevented him from doing much running at all. A popular story is that Rono ran for one hour in the morning before a race to get rid of a hangover. While the story has been proven false by Rono, he claims that the story was passed around as a testament to his former athletic ability. Throughout the years between 1978 and 1984, he broke many more records such as, the 5k, 10k, 5k again, which is the third fastest 5k, and a 4k steeplechase which stood for eleven years. It still stands as the collegiate world record, over 4 decades later.
Rono has made many mistakes throughout his life. One of his greatest regrets is being unable to participate in the Olympics due to Kenya boycotting them. Present-day Rono says, “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. The successes of the Kenyan team at the last Olympics in Beijing were also like the gold medal I didn’t get in 1980.” Plagued by homelessness and drunk driving arrests, Rono had to work at many poor-paying and sketchy jobs to stay afloat.
Finally catching a grip after 15 years in the 1990’s, he slowly recuperated and became a coach of high school athletics in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “I’m a recovering alcoholic but I’ve been sober for the last seven years. I believe I’ve recovered my dignity and my place in society,” says Rono. According to him, he was once at “the top of the highest mountain and then down to the bottom of the world”. In 2019, he finally returned to Kenya and settled into the same plot of land from his childhood. Rono doesn’t do much running anymore, and only goes on small trips to the sauna and church. Even so, Rono feels content with how far he got with his running career.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Rono
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