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Running event for the visually impaired to be held

Kenyan runner Henry Wanyoike, second right, known as the world's fastest blind runner, poses together with blind marathon runner Chang Wen-yen, second left, at a press conference yesterday in Taipei. PHOTO: HSU MING-LI, TAIPEI TIMES

Henry Wanyoike was chosen as a long-distance runner for Kenya's national team when he was 19 years old. But tragedy struck when a stroke on the night of May 1, 1995, left him blind and prevented him from walking for six months.

"At first, I was painful and frustrated. I thought this could be the end of the world," he told the Taipei Times. "I wanted to commit suicide because I lost my sight and would never be able to do the things I wanted to do."

His friend Joseph Kibunja recalled that Wanyoike could not even laugh for about three years.

Support from Wanyoike's mother and siblings helped him through that difficult time and he decided to start running again and asked Kinbunja to be his running guide.

"He [Kibunja] would encourage me to keep running by saying things like `Hurry, people are watching' or `You're almost there,' when in fact there was no one around and I was nowhere near the finish line," Wanyoike said, recalling the training process.

Jointly, Wanyoike and Kibunja attended the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and won the gold medal in the 5,000m for the visually impaired. He missed the world record by only three seconds. Since then, Wanyoike has joined long-distance races around the globe. His best time was set when he ran the 2005 Hamburg Marathon in 2:31:32.

Wanyoike and Kibunja arrived in Taiwan on Monday to join a track and field event designed to encourage more blind people to run.

The event is scheduled to be held at National Taiwan University on Saturday. Besides blind runners, the organizer has also arranged for volunteers to act as their running guides.

Peng Tai-ling (彭臺臨), director of the sports-for-all department at the Sports Affairs Council, noted the nation's low sports participation rate for the physically challenged.

An athlete whose vision is impaired in one eye as well, Peng hoped events such as this one would encourage more disabled people to engage in sports.

"You can be an athlete so long as you have a body," he said.

The event will help raise funds for a local blind runners' foundation named after the movie character Forrest Gump (台灣阿甘精神發展協會).

The foundation's chairman Chang Wen-yen (張文彥), also a blind marathon runner, said the biggest obstacle keeping blind people from running is the lack of running guides and training.

Chang met his running guide Wu Shin-hua (吳興華) 12 years ago at an elementary school running track. Before he met Wu, Chang had to ask different people to be his running guides.

"We hope more blind people would follow the spirit of Forrest Gump and the runner in Chariots of Fire," Chang told the Taipei Times. "The money raised through the foundation will be used to support the blind to join sports events."
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