Another hard blow for athletics after the Kiptum tragedy: Henry Rono, the phenomenon who broke four world records in 81 days, has died

If Kenya does not emerge from the pain of the tragedy of Kelvin Kiptum – the marathon world record holder, who crashed his car on the highway last Sunday and died at the age of 24 – it is now suffering the death of a another of his great athletic figures, although more distant: Enrico Ron.

When the dominance of Kenyan runners was just beginning to appear on the world stage, in the late 1970s, Henry Rono has completed a feat this was remembered only from the times of the main legends of long-distance athletics such as Paolo Nurmi AND Emil Zatopek: He broke four world records in just 81 days in his tremendous 1978 season..

Then, personal problems…mainly his addiction to alcoholism— caused his campaign to collapse, and although he had a brief, brilliant comeback in 1981, he never made a full comeback. And he did not have, unlike other great runners from his country, the satisfaction of an Olympic title or a world championship, given that the latter began to be held in 1983, when he was already moving away from competitions.

Rono was born on February 12, 1952 in Kiptaragon, in the Rift Valley, the main “quarry” of great athletes. Like almost all of his generation, he was inspired by the exploits of Kipchoge Keinowhich reached the world and Olympic heights in the 1960s.

He began progressing as a runner when he was in the military and had the opportunity to participate in the Montreal Olympics 1976 both in the 3,000 meters with obstacles and in the 5,000 meters flat. But the African boycott prevented him from doing so.

He was also one of the first Kenyan athletes to be “recruited” by the US university circuit. In your case, however Washington State Universitywhere his campaign was led by a famous manager, John Chaplin. They formed a formidable team that also included the best Argentine distance runner of the time, Omar Esteban Ortegawho broke the national record for 1,500 meters and earned the Olympic nomination for Los Angeles 1984.

With Washington State he won the National University (NCAA) cross country title on three consecutive occasions (1977 to 1979) and won numerous indoor and outdoor events.

But the progression of ’78 was directly incredible:

• On April 8, on the track at the University of California, Berkeley, Rono broke the world record for the 5,000 meters clocking 13’08’4. The previous record belonged to the New Zealander Dick Quax of the previous year with 13m12s9. And Rono thus emulated Keino, who already held this record in 1965 with 13m24s2

• On May 13th, in another of the university circuit races (Northwest Relays), Rono he set the world record for the typical Kenyan event, the 3,000 meters hurdles. He clocked 8’05s4 and bettered the Swede’s 8’08s02 Anders Garderud she won the Olympic final in Montreal on 28 July 1976. This record would have been valid for a long time since only in 1989, Pietro Koch I took it to 8m05s35 in Stockholm.

• . Then begins his European tour which, On June 11, at the Prater stadium in Vienna, he broke the world record for 10,000 meters with 27m22s47.. Your countryman Samson Kimobwa, who was also studying at WSA, had set this record with 27m30s47 in the previous season. In that race, Colombian Domingo Tibaduiza came second, setting a new South American record of 27m53s20. And during the first 3.5 kilometers, Rono had, as a “hare” or “pacemaker”, an important Dutch marathon runner, José Hermenslater becoming the world’s leading manager of marathon runners.

• Rono’s incredible series was completed on June 27 in one of “magic stadiums” of world athletics, the Bislett, in Oslo, where more than fifty records have been set in the history of this sport. Rono ran the 3,000 meters flat course in 7’32”, bettering the 7’35” of Britain’s Brendan Foster in 1974. He thus returned to Kenya the record in the specialty, which he had already held with Keino in 1965. Rono’s record was only beaten by Said Aouita in the following decade (7m29s45, on 20 August 1989 in Cologne).

During that unforgettable season, Rono remained undefeated in 31 outdoor competitionsincluding gold medals in the 3,000m hurdles and 10,000m at the Pan African Games in Algiers and another double at the British Community Games in Edmonton (hurdles and 5,000m).

The last stretch of Rono

Rono graduated from WS with a degree in general studies in 1981, a season in which he returned to prominence with a new world record for the 5,000m: 13’06.20 on the Knarvik track. It was a short-lived achievement, as Britain’s Dave Moorcroft clocked 13’00’41 at the Bislett Stadium the following year.

From Rono onwards, Kenyans and Ethiopians established an almost invulnerable supremacy in medium and long distance races, conquering all the world circuits, the major championships and the Olympic Games. But Rono couldn’t enjoy himself.

“I was just a young African who fell into the Western world without being part of it. I tried to fix myself, but I couldn’t. That situation crushed me, everything was bigger than me. And so I started drinking” will be his lament much later. They tried to associate it with some enterprises, but it fell into disrepair. And he once ended up in a homeless shelter in Washington state.

Later, they found him a job in a garage until, finally, he found the people who really helped him, managed to rehabilitate himself and complete a coaching course at another strong athletic university, in New Mexico.

“When I lived among the homeless, I thought I had reached the lowest point. But when you regain your dignity, you become a free man again,” he recalled.

Rono died this Thursday, February 15, at Nairobi South Hospital., where he had been hospitalized ten days ago. Three days ago he turned 72.