Henry Rono’s burial date set

Legendary runner Henry Rono is set to be buried on February 28 at his Kirobon farm in Kuresoi North, Molo, Nakuru County.

According to Nation Sport, the family spokesperson, Wilfred Bungei, confirmed that burial preparations are already underway following consultations on which of his farms he would be laid to rest.

“The committees sitting in Nairobi and upcountry will continue with discussions leading to the burial of our legend. Everyone desires that he be accorded a send-off befitting of his status,” Bungei said.

Rono passed away on Thursday, February 15, while undergoing treatment at a Nairobi hospital where he had been admitted for 10 days.

During his illustrious running career, Rono made history in the 3000m, 3000m steeplechase, 5000m, and 10,000m, with his records in the 3000m and 3000m steeplechase standing for more than a decade.

Born on February 12, 1952, in Kiptaragon, Rono overcame a bicycle accident that left him unable to walk until he was six. He was inspired to take up running by two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge Keino.

Rono joined the Kenyan Army in 1973 and was later selected for the 1976 Olympic Games in the 3000m steeplechase and 5000m but did not make it to Montreal because of the Kenyan boycott.

Stifled by the Kenyan boycotts of the 1976 and 1980 Summer Games, Rono never experienced Olympic glory. But his 1978 season was one of the most remarkable ones in track history.

Over 81 days, as a 26-year-old Washington State sophomore, he set world records in four events: the 3,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m, and 3,000m steeplechase, a feat accomplished by no one else before or since.

Based in the USA and studying at Washington State University, Rono won the first of three NCAA cross-country titles that year. He also became the NCAA indoor 3000m champion in 1977, winning NCAA 3000m steeplechase titles in 1978 and 1979.

Rono won 31 outdoor races in 1978, including at the All-Africa Games in Algiers, where he claimed a 3000m steeplechase and 10,000m double, and at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, where he won the 3000m steeplechase and the 5000m.

He graduated from Washington State University with a degree in general studies in 1981, the year he set the fifth world record of his career, improving his 5000m mark to 13:06.20 in Knarvik, Norway. Following his retirement from competitive athletics, Rono qualified as a teacher and became a coach.

The period in his life of which he is most proud, he insists, is not when he broke four world records in 81 days, but the time when he enrolled in community college and finally achieved the goal that had long eluded him: a mastery of English.

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