How Kipchoge Keino’s superhuman efforts came to play at the 1968 Olympic Games

The year is 1968.

Kenya’s legendary runner Kipchoge Keino arrives in Mexico City for the much-anticipated Olympics, eager to win medals for his country.

By 1965, he was at his peak, holding world records in the 3000m and 5000m.

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But fate dealt him a cruel card.

As the Games began, so did a painful health crisis. He started battling gallbladder stones and persistent abdominal pain.

Despite being strongly warned by doctors not to compete, Keino defied medical advice.

Against all odds, he competed in six grueling races over eight days. Even for a healthy athlete, this would be an impossible workload. For a man in constant pain, it was unthinkable.

His Olympic journey began with heartbreak in the 10,000m final.

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Leading with just a few laps to go, a sharp pain struck his side, and he collapsed onto the infield.

When medics rushed to stretcher him off, Keino refused. He rose, finished the race, but was ultimately disqualified for stepping inside the track lines.

The race, however, marked a turning point for Kenya, with Naftali Temu racing clear to claim Kenya’s first-ever Olympic title.

Four days later, Keino returned to the track, refusing to be defeated. He lined up for the 5000m final still nursing abdominal pain.

Against all odds, he finished second to take silver, while Temu secured bronze. But Keino was not satisfied.

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He reveals that he had trained way too much to leave the games without a gold medal. He trained at high altitude in Thompson Falls in Nyahururu.

Then came the most iconic chapter of all.

On the day of the 1500m final, Keino was bedridden. A doctor visited him and strongly advised against running since his gallbladder issues had worsened.

“I was told to stay in bed and rest. But after the doctor left, I got dressed and went to catch a bus to the stadium,” he shared.

As fate would have it, the bus got stuck in traffic. Time ticking, Keino leapt out and ran the last two kilometers to the Olympic Stadium. He arrived just in time, with only 20 minutes to register and warm up before the race began.

Standing between him and gold was America’s golden boy, Jim Ryun, who was unbeaten in 47 consecutive races over three years.

Ryun also held world records in both the 1500m and the mile. But Keino’s secret weapon was his tactical masterstroke.

With teammate Ben Jipcho pushing the pace from the front, Keino surged ahead and never looked back.

He crossed the finish line a full 20 meters ahead of Ryun. That performance stunned the athletics world and cemented his place in Olympic folklore.

“At the 1968 Olympics, I beat Jim Ryun by 20 meters. He thought we played a trick on him with Jipcho. But we were prepared. We trained at altitude in Thompson Falls. Our coach, Charles Mukora, gave us the tactics. We worked hard,” he said to Nation Sports.

Even after 1968, Keino’s legend continued to grow.

In Munich 1972, he overcame death threats to win gold in the 3000m steeplechase and silver in the 1500m.