Why road racer Emmanuel Bor owes his success to late grandmother

Whenever Emmanuel Bor crosses the finish line, he takes to his knees for a word of prayer whether he has triumphed or lost the race.

It is a habit he adopted when he made his debut in athletics while a pupil at the Chepkumia Primary School, an institution he represented in the 3000m steeplechase and the 5k race from class five. 

The seasoned road race runner who recently clinched the Mozzart Bet-sponsored Re-discover Nandi road race does not only thank God for the obvious reasons but, also commemorates the life of his late grandmother Leah Leting.

The 28-year avers that he would not have cut his teeth and thrived in the trade, had her departed grandmother afforded him a comfortable shoulder to lean on in the initial stages of his career.

Bor recalls that he was on the verge of throwing the towel in his initial years in the trade but her grandmother Leting saved the day by raising money to facilitate for passport application and visa to the United States of America where he was invited to hone his skills two years after writing his Secondary School studies.

The opportunity to fly to Washington DC nearly slithered through his hands as the father of two hailed from a humble beginning in Chepkumia village,Kapsabet where getting three meals a day and other basic needs was a preserve of a few.

With no alternative source of income and neglected, Bor says that the tender hearted Leting was touched by his plight and swung into action, availing the finances required to gather the traveling documents to the United States where he had landed the rare chance to advance his career under Ben Kurgat, a Kenyan athlete manager based in the United States.

"My journey in athletics has not been an easy one especially in the initial stage. After I completed my high school studies, I was grounded and nearly gave up. By the grace of God, I landed the chance to run in America but I couldn't raise money to get the documents. That opportunity was on the verge of being gifted to someone else but my late grandmother accorded me the financial support and I managed to secure the documents. She is one of the reasons I thank God for whenever I complete any race. Were it not for God and her my talent would have gone to waste, " he narrated.

In spite of running barefooted and occasionally on an empty stomach, Bor's star in athletics began to glamour in primary school but it is after scooping bronze in the East Africa School games in 2010 held in Nakuru that he broke into pre-eminence. 

He had secured a slot in the Kenyan team to the regional inter schools’ competition by virtue of finishing third in the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) finals.

While displaying an avalanche of medals he has won throughout his illustrious career, Bor looks back to his humble beginnings with the utter satisfaction of towering past hurdles to live a decent life and bring dignity to his family. 

The beguiling trophy cabinet laden with all sorts of medals won right from primary school to the Re-discover Nandi road race gold medal, his latest addition to the cabinet is a true testament to the old adage that goes that, success is the fruit of hard work. 

While a form two student at the Chepkongonyi Secondary School, his talent coupled by the assistance from his games teacher identified as Mr Langat earned him an invitation to train at the St. Patrick's Athletics Camp in Iten famous for producing world beaters.

It is at the camp that he admits that he was bequeathed with skills which went a long way in getting the better of the stiff competition in the schools' games national and regional finals.

After writing his secondary school exams, the allure of making a career out of running as well as unhooking his family from the Jaws of poverty was irresistible and ended up joining the renowned Ibrahim Hussein Camp in Kapsabet in 2011a place he called him for close to two years. 

With a beaming face, Bor admits that he enjoyed the luxury of putting on a standard long distance running shoe at for the first time upon reporting to the camp and hence made training delightful. 

He says he settled well in the camp and through the aid of coach Aziz, his mastery of athletics scaled so was his shape and ability to meet the physical demands of road running. 

However, the frustration of watching his peers and colleagues compete abroad and return home with loaded bank accounts become an open secret after failing to nail down a race in the country and abroad.

"I fell in love with athletics while in primary school where I won medals for the school even though I used to run barefoot. I realized that I was talented when in high school as I went all the way to the nationals and regional finals. The recognition and coverage by the media was immense and vowed to make a career out of it. I joined St.Patrick camp when I was form two and began learning. After high school, I was exposed to tough training at the Ibrahim Hussein camp, my first place to wear a good standard running shoe. It was tough at the camp as injuries were the order of the day and life became unbearable as I did not have a reliable source of income. I nearly gave up but kept pushing, " he said.

After failing to secure a race to test his skills at the competitive level, Bor cast his net wider and luckily he linked up with Kurgat in the United States a move which he reckons brought the breakthrough.

He stayed in Washington for a year where he participated in a number of competitions which opened the floodgates of finances enough to clear school fees for his siblings and bring dignity to his family.

The father of two contested for honors in Spain, Germany, France and Portugal and at the same time changed managers until his return home in 2018 when he fell in the hands of the famed athlete representative and Italian Federico Rosa.

He says joining the Rosa camp proved a game changer in his career as he got the opportunity to represent the country in the 2018 African Cross Country championship held in Algiers, Algeria finishing fifth.

 "I traveled to the United States in late 2013 full of hope that I will participate in competitive races. Life was tough abroad but within a short time, I began enjoying the fruits of hard work after the then manager secured races for me in Washington and other European countries. Things got better when I joined the Rosa camp where I am stationed to date. I have lost count on the number of races I have participated from the time I joined but I remember the continental event with pride as it was my first time to represent the country, " he said.

Having already made a name and a career out of running, Bor proudly highlights some of the dividends he has scooped from the road, notably is educating his siblings and giving his parents a decent life.

Regrettably, he admits that the biggest challenge he faced in the initial years in the trade was exploitation by managers but he is glad that his God given talent has seen his family members reunite and afford basic needs without much strain.

"When I was abroad, I managed to pool resources despite the fleecing by managers enough to construct a modern house for my father Erick Kibor and educated my siblings. There were a lot of cracks in the family but I have managed to seal them and inspired hope to many," he disclosed. 

The athlete who draws inspiration from the 2008 Olympics 800m gold medalist Pamela Jelimo whom she revealed that was her training mate at some point said he was looking forward to transition into full marathon in the future.

Bor marked his debut last month with a bronze medal during the third edition of the Eldoret City Marathon held last month, finishing behind Leonard Langat and Victor Kipchirchir on 2:11:10.

He also harbors a dream of flying the Kenyan flag again in international events as well as nurture upcoming athletes as a way of giving back to the society whom he holds dear to his heart for coming to his aid last year when the coronavirus pandemic barred him from competing.

"The end game for majority of athletes has always been the full marathon a race I will be fully focused on in future. I tested my body during the Eldoret marathon and the results were good. It is also my wish to represent and win medals for the country." he remarked.

Bio

Name: Emmanuel Bor

Date of birth: 25/12/1993

Primary School: Chepkumia

Secondary School: Chepkongonyi

Favorite dish: Ugali and milk 

Personal bests

5000m 13:56.07

10000m 28:32.05

10k-27:41

15k-46:19

20k-1:01:26

Half Marathon -1:01:04

Full Marathon -2:11:10

Races he has participated

Chon Buri 10 race-28:34- January 2020

Shanghai 10k-27:41-October 2019 (Gold)

Hamburg 10 race-28:34-September 2018 (silver)

Mt Kenya 12k race –February 2021 (Gold)

Corrda Delangueux 10K race –June 2019 (Gold)

HCA Virginia 8km race- 2014 (Gold)

Pittsburgh Half Marathon-2014 (Silver)

Imenti South 15k race- 2019 (Gold)

Kisumu 10k race- December 2019 (Gold)