This archive report was first published on 13 December 2019.
Wilfred Bungei's Battle with Alcoholism ¶
Wilfred Bungei, the 800m Olympic Champion at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, has spoken out about his struggles with alcoholism.
According to an interview with BBC Sport Africa, Bungei revealed that he no longer celebrates his birthday but instead marks the day he stopped drinking.
"I don’t celebrate my birthday but I celebrate the day I stopped drinking. It makes me feel proud of myself. It makes me feel I have control over my life," he told BBC.
Bungei, who had a limited break from athletics, turned to alcohol after retirement, consuming a bottle of wine in one sitting and sending for another. He recalled a day in 2012 when he should have been celebrating the birth of his third child but ended up in a ditch after drinking over a litre of vodka.
"There was always that lie – ‘let me have one or two so that I can have the courage to see is what happening’," he recalled.
He also shared how his children would fear being around him as he would drive while drunk, and how he was involved in an accident.
However, Bungei decided to turn his life around when the physical effects of alcoholism started taking a toll on him.
"There comes a time that drinking is giving you more pain, physically. I can remember there was a time when my body was feeling itchy, I was sweating all over and what was so scary was the hallucinations and the darkness coming," he explained.
He checked into a rehabilitation centre in Nairobi in September 2012 and has never touched a drink since then.
Today, Bungei uses his personal experience to help others suffering from the same problems he did, supporting and guiding professional athletes as they transition into retirement.
