Sat, Feb 28, 2004 - Page 19 News List

Kenyan steeplechase pioneer lives life of squalor

LOST AND FORGOTTEN Amos Biwott won Kenya's first Olympic Gold in an event the nation has dominated ever since, but not much remains of his glorious past

REUTERS , NAIROBI

Kip Keino won the 1,500m gold medal, giving the east African nation a medals haul surpassed only by their performance at the 1988 Seoul Games when they won four golds on the track alone.

Biwott joined the Kenya Prisons Service in 1973, in part thanks to the goodwill he earned through his Olympic medal.

He rose through the ranks until his ignominious departure in 1978 when he was prosecuted for theft.

Biwott remained unemployed until 1986 when he landed a job as a watchman at the newly built stadium but he was dismissed three years ago and has remained at home since.

His wife Cherono Maiyo was among the first Kenyan female Olympians. She took part in the 1972 Olympics in Munich and reached the semifinals in both the 800m and 1500m.

Maiyo married Biwott in 1973 and they have five children aged between 28 and 14.

On the wall of their living room hang three items which are the only signs that Biwott was ever involved in athletics.

One is an award which Athletics Kenya gave to all former Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalists. Alongside it are a team portrait from the 1970 Commonwealth Games and a certificate awarded to Biwott for participating as a volunteer in the 1987 All African Games in Nairobi.

This story has been viewed 3900 times.
TOP top