Although Henry Rono never competed at the Olympics, most running fans remember Rono’s remarkable 1976 season. The Kenyan was in his glory days, and his accomplishments will go down in track history.
At a young age, Rono’s life was filled with misfortune. He got in a bicycle accident, and he couldn’t walk until the age of six. Around the same time, his father died from a tractor accident. Without his father, his family struggled financially. Rono was in and out of school as his mother couldn’t pay the fees.
At 19, Rono fell in love with running, a light in his misfortuned life. He was inspired by Kipchoge Keino, a runner from a nearby village. The age of Kenyan running dominance, which Rono would join, was kickstarted by Keino’s gold medal win for the 1,500 meters at the 1968 Olympics.
His running flourished, especially during his military service. Before the 1976 Montreal Olympics, he was put on the national team. His competitors saw him as a threat in the 5,000 meters and steeplechase. Unfortunately for Rono, he couldn’t compete: “Kenya’s government announced an 11th-hour boycott, joining most African countries in protesting the inclusion of New Zealand, whose national rugby team was touring apartheid, South Africa.”
Many running fans believed Rono would have come home with two Olympic gold medals if not for the boycott. Even the man who inspired him to start running agreed. Keino said, “I thought this man would come home with two golds.”
Rono eventually found himself running for Washing State, as many American colleges recruited Africans, especially for track. His coach, John Chaplin, was training a group of talented Kenyan runners.
In the span of only 81 days, the Washington State sophomore set world records in four different events: the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and 3,000-meter steeplechase.
After a few more moments of glory, Rono ended up going through many personal struggles. He started drinking regularly. He spent his money carelessly and lost a lot of it. However, he wanted to fix his act. He traveled all around the United States, staying in friends’ guest bedrooms and going to alcohol-addiction rehab. He followed his list of bad actions with good ones: Parking cars for people in Portland, OR, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army in Salt Lake City, and pushing people in wheelchairs at the Albuquerque airport.
Rono continued doing good, moving to Mexico to become a special-education teacher in the 1990s. Afterward, he worked with prospective elites in Albuquerque and college athletes in the Navajo Nation before spending time in Yemen training athletes.
However, Rono felt like something was missing in his life. He wanted to perfect his third language, English. “Running to me was second nature,” Rono said. “Education was my weakness.”
With determination, Rono went back to school. He learned poetry, advanced grammar, and creative writing. Using his education, in 2010, he wrote a memoir, “Olympic Dream.”
Eventually, after completing all his goals and longing for home, Rono finally went back to the place of his birth– Kenya. There, he lives a peaceful life.
Rono still talks about his adventurous life, and appreciates all that running has given him. Although addiction overshadowed much of his later life, at 70, he says he regrets nothing. “Running, he said, opened a path: to a world beyond Kiptaragon village, and to an unexpected route back.”
At a young age, Rono’s life was filled with misfortune. He got in a bicycle accident, and he couldn’t walk until the age of six. Around the same time, his father died from a tractor accident. Without his father, his family struggled financially. Rono was in and out of school as his mother couldn’t pay the fees.
At 19, Rono fell in love with running, a light in his misfortuned life. He was inspired by Kipchoge Keino, a runner from a nearby village. The age of Kenyan running dominance, which Rono would join, was kickstarted by Keino’s gold medal win for the 1,500 meters at the 1968 Olympics.
His running flourished, especially during his military service. Before the 1976 Montreal Olympics, he was put on the national team. His competitors saw him as a threat in the 5,000 meters and steeplechase. Unfortunately for Rono, he couldn’t compete: “Kenya’s government announced an 11th-hour boycott, joining most African countries in protesting the inclusion of New Zealand, whose national rugby team was touring apartheid, South Africa.”
Many running fans believed Rono would have come home with two Olympic gold medals if not for the boycott. Even the man who inspired him to start running agreed. Keino said, “I thought this man would come home with two golds.”
Rono eventually found himself running for Washing State, as many American colleges recruited Africans, especially for track. His coach, John Chaplin, was training a group of talented Kenyan runners.
In the span of only 81 days, the Washington State sophomore set world records in four different events: the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and 3,000-meter steeplechase.
After a few more moments of glory, Rono ended up going through many personal struggles. He started drinking regularly. He spent his money carelessly and lost a lot of it. However, he wanted to fix his act. He traveled all around the United States, staying in friends’ guest bedrooms and going to alcohol-addiction rehab. He followed his list of bad actions with good ones: Parking cars for people in Portland, OR, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army in Salt Lake City, and pushing people in wheelchairs at the Albuquerque airport.
Rono continued doing good, moving to Mexico to become a special-education teacher in the 1990s. Afterward, he worked with prospective elites in Albuquerque and college athletes in the Navajo Nation before spending time in Yemen training athletes.
However, Rono felt like something was missing in his life. He wanted to perfect his third language, English. “Running to me was second nature,” Rono said. “Education was my weakness.”
With determination, Rono went back to school. He learned poetry, advanced grammar, and creative writing. Using his education, in 2010, he wrote a memoir, “Olympic Dream.”
Eventually, after completing all his goals and longing for home, Rono finally went back to the place of his birth– Kenya. There, he lives a peaceful life.
Rono still talks about his adventurous life, and appreciates all that running has given him. Although addiction overshadowed much of his later life, at 70, he says he regrets nothing. “Running, he said, opened a path: to a world beyond Kiptaragon village, and to an unexpected route back.”
