This archive report was first published on 4 January 2020.
As Kenya prepares to return to Tokyo for the Olympic Games, the country looks back on its first appearance in the Japanese capital 56 years ago. It was at the 1964 Games that Wilson Kiprugut Chumo made history by winning Kenya’s first Olympic medal – a bronze in the 880 yards race (now 800 metres in the metric system).
But Kiprugut’s achievement was not an isolated incident. He was part of a long line of Kenyan athletes who had been competing in international events since the country’s debut at the 1956 Games in Melbourne. However, it was at the 1964 Games in Tokyo that Kenya first competed as an independent nation.
Today, Kiprugut lives in Kericho, a town surrounded by tea plantations, where he was welcomed with good serene and fresh air. He resides in a two-bedroom house on a four-acre farm surrounded by tea plantations with two of his sons living next to him.
During our visit, Kiprugut was seated in his living room, wearing a red jacket, a symbol of the Kenyan sports teams travelling for various events outside the country. His grandson, Felix Kipkurui, a third-year student at Masinde Muliro University, joined us to interpret for the old man.
The house was decorated with pictures of past races Kiprugut participated in, including a certificate of appreciation from Kenya Amateur Athletics Association (now Athletics Kenya) in one corner. He also had medals tucked in one of the boxes in his house, a reminder of how he brought glory to the country.
‘I used my own savings from the Kenya Army to build this house because we were not rewarded when representing our country during the championships,’ Kiprugut said.
Born in August 1941 in Kinamget, Ainamoi, Kericho County, Kiprugut went to Kaptebeswet Primary School up to class four before joining Sitotwet Primary School up to standard seven where he graduated in 1958. He was recruited by King’s African Rifles (now Kenya Defence Forces) in 1959, where he served before embarking on serious training as he sharpened his skills in the athletics field.
He went back to athletics training hard and in 1962, he was part of the 4x440 yards team that represented Kenya in the Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia, where they emerged fifth. Kiprugut continued with his participation in various competitions, including the East Africa Games, where he was beaten by Kiptalam Arap Keter from Kapsabet in Nandi County.
He was selected to represent Kenya in the 1964 Olympics Games, where he says it was one of his best outings. ‘When I was selected to represent Kenya, it was a dream come true because I knew my life was going to change. I was in good shape and I was going for the win but things changed when I was hit by one of the athletes,’ Kiprugut said.
During the last lap, a Jamaican George Kerr tried to push him, and Kiprugut almost lost his stability. He still blames Kerr for not winning a gold medal. ‘I still blame him because I bagged bronze yet I was in good position to win a gold medal,’ Kiprugut said.
In 1965, Kiprugut bagged two gold medals in the 400m and 800m races at the inaugural of All African Games held in Brazzaville, Congo. He also won another bronze medal in the 880 yards at the 1966 Commonwealth Games held in Kingston, Jamaica. During the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico, he bagged a silver medal before retiring from active athletics and settling as a coach in the army until 1974, when he finally retired from the force.
