 Yes, welcome back. This is the touch line. Second segment we talk about athletics and John Vaslin is here to help us understand some of the happenings. This week really tragic events and tragic news. I remember we were here over during last weekend's show and we were hopeful that the season will kick off to a better start. But here we again, that's normal. How did you receive the passing on of first of all Kevin Kiptum? Thank you for having me, Bernard. It was horrific. It was not easy to chew something. This is a guy I have interacted with him. I knew Kevin Kiptum in 2018 at what was it? Half marathon. Then I came the following year and I met Kevin again. He was doing half at that time and he ran the family bank half marathon. And then he won again and we interacted then in between. We got lost because Elwood came and took everything in between there. Kevin went to Valencia again. He came back to Limelight. And now I did a follow up to just understand him. Then all of a sudden Kevin went to London and then immediately after London we met. Because again there was a tragic incident again happening in the same camp that they had. They had an agent that passed on called Daniel Miami. He was a personal friend. I've been following those guys for like 14 years. So we met, we sat for like 3 hours and I was asking him, what is your thinking? How are you running these crazy times? And this guy was telling me, na bado, what's your anniversary in Mambo? Bado, you haven't seen the best of me, I've just started. And he was to rest with Elwood in Balinio, remember? And then again management issues and marketing issue, corporate branding and all that came into play. And they said they have to delay this meeting together with these two guys. So the hopeful event was to meet and then he went to Chicago. And he actually defied the orders of running when he came. Although Marathon records have been broken 5 times in Chicago, but in Balinio you'll see that 12 of those records have been broken because of the flatness of the course. And here the guy went there and then he did the unimaginable. Him going at this particular moment was shocking. There are people who have not recovered, even the management himself. You know what the management was? They were putting into structures or into place. They wanted to use now this image of Kiptum because Kiptum had an active running career of around 13 years, actively running. And this guy has just started. So you know with running is progression. I will tell you something a little bit. It has taken like 116 years for 55 minutes to be broken. I'm talking about 19 or 8 to 20 to this year. Those are 116 years that it has taken for people to reduce 55 seconds. So it's something that has taken time and then it takes the progression. Now this guy had came into the system. Now he understand the courses, how to handle, how to tackle. You know with running you'll never lie about running. Running is about calculation. Runners are the best mathematicians because he knows within these 10 kilometers I'm supposed to run at a pace of 2 and a half or 3 minutes per kilometer. Then he knows when the body is responding well if he has to increase the pace or if he has to reduce the pace because maybe sometimes the weather you know when you can go for a rest, let's say you go to run in Mombasa the weather there is totally different from the weather in Nairobi and El Dorate. So with running you cannot compare the running, the minutes, they are too different because it will eat you. Mombasa eat you because of humidity. So an athlete will understand that. He knows his body, how it responds. So when I talk to him after breaking the record now, came back and then he said, now I'm going for that time that Elwood had run at Inyos. And here we have, the guy is gone at a tender age. Talk about his determination and zeal when he had just reached that particular milestone many will say that that's the top. Where do you go after that? How was his reaction to setting all that record and climbing to the top of his career? You know this guy again, I'll tell you something that he has run, he has participated into three major races that have propelled him to be where he is and he made himself a legend. This is a self-made individual because in most people they have known Kiptoom the last two years. But for us who have been in the game we have known Kiptoom for more than 10 years, you get it. So we understand where he is coming from. People even didn't know this guy is married he has a family. Kiptoom has had a family for a very long time that we have known him. And you see people just saw him when he came into Valencia then the surprise visit at London then the wonderful thing, amazing thing, crazy thing that he did at Chicago. This guy was focused and he was purposeful and the next time that he was going was now to he was setting the records. His mind now was setting the record things that will take time for people to break. You remember when people were saying records are made to be broken. But I tell you even he himself eljud was astonished when this man ran because the course was not favorable for marathon record. Chicago is usually there's a little bit hili it's a little bit steep but when you compare with the Berlin course Berlin course is a flat course like this start to finish, it's all level down. So he didn't expect that to happen. So I think the future for this young man was to run to 5.8 It was possible because you look at the pace in how he was running. You see he delayed a little bit. You remember at London when he told after finishing the race if at that particular moment somebody could have told him that you are on the course record pace he could have broken the record at that particular moment but nobody was there. You remember the escort in Chicago. In Chicago they were telling him because even the people were escorting they had now to communicate to him they had to tell him now you are on the course you are within the record. Yes maintain you know they are telling him this time is record you are on record. It was really encouraging but at London nobody was telling him for the last 12 I think 12 kilometers because the body was still working he was still at his best. You remember the finishing the finishing around the 500 meters that guy was explosive and then you see he was acting as one zero. That is the prime time and you can see with marathon when somebody especially after the 38 kilometer you are not yourself it's the system now running you because physically you are gone because running 40 kilometers non-stop in a span of 2 minutes 30 seconds or yes 2 minutes 30 seconds or in a span of 3 minutes per kilometer or maintaining the same for 20 kilometers running 2 and 30 seconds it's crazy you know so when the system reaches at around 38 kilometer 35 kilometer mostly the last pace maker usually drops that's the very last pace maker drops at that particular moment so you remain on your own this athlete has 5 kilometer to maintain that pace then the 2 kilometer is where somebody is telling me God help me but we saw Kiptum in Chicago doing the amazing because when he tremendous 12 kilometer he was destructive and he really destroyed that cost record in the finishing minutes so the future for this young man was so great and records were going to fall so the management had structured this young man they wanted to propel him the same way global did for Elliot because Elliot became an icon in the world of running he's a legend bought truck you know Elliot came he's the one who removed these people what are the names he's God bless him he beat them on the truck hands down he beat them at 18 years he was destroying them this guy has history that he has built on it's just like faith faith is from nowhere you see he started running bare floated here at this ground that has been refurbished very first time and she is she yes so you see but Kiptum nobody knew him only those people on the ground are the people who knew him actually people knew the coach so where does this leave the future the future we don't know now because what has happened is just terrible and for you to get another Kiptum it's going to take us time we know we produce we manufacture the athletes they are both long and short we manufacture them because every day there is a new breed that is coming up but to get the caliber of this young man Kelvin Kiptum it will take us a while yes and of course not really going into the Olympics means the Kenyan team now has to rearrange their plans even I will tell you point blank without fear or contradiction nothing going to happen between those two legends nothing between there was no running between Eljud and Kipchog it wouldn't have happened because the history could have gone at one particular moment this is a young tack fresh blood and we are looking at a legend on the cast of history and legacy that one is destroying the old man he could have been completely distressed outpaste and he could have been made to look what can I say like nime daraoliwa to put it in that context nothing could have happened at that particular moment I don't think Eljud could have competed with Kiptum in Olympics yes indeed and of course the passing now the authorities are doing their doing their work hoping that they could unravel what was really behind the sudden demise but all the same remember that he did live a mark as the only athlete who did run in a competitive race just two zero zero thirty five and now will live until that day when another athlete will come to the four and maybe lower the time but also same week we had a legend first on a triblazer of his time Henry Rono Henry Rono is just going to the same actually Kiptum has gone to the same history books as Henry Rono on one front is that at their prime they never won a world championship medal or an Olympic medal Henry Rono came into the limelight at 1978 in 1981 he broke as the time he broke four five records in one particular in two races because he broke the 10k then he took the steep purchase and then he broke even the in between times that were there and then the funny thing is that we were going to have the world championship at that particular time that is 1984 but Kenyapu recorded the event so they never went and Henry was at his prime at that time he was destroying records so he goes to the history books as someone who was at his prime but he never achieved the highest medals that an athlete anticipates or aspires to have that is the world championship medal and Olympic medal now back to his debt Henry Rono left Kenya and Weden stayed in United States for 34 years he stayed for 34 years and he lived a lavish life a lavish lifestyle and overspent his earning so before he left the U.S. he had won few races especially the marathons even when he broke the 10k record and the steep purchase record so he had some few coins that he had he bought a house here in South Sea and it's still there and then this guy decided to go even he left his family then he went he forgot his family but he remembered the young girl because they were in constant communication with the young lady that she had and he the daughter now and he went to States then he stayed for 34 years people had to fundraise for this old man to come back to Kenya and it was big big big big big headlines that were running but when you look at him again first you will pity the life somebody who never saved or who never put his earning into a proper basket because he got and he misused what he had because he started he went into coaching after retirement he used to coach people then all of a sudden he went to strain the streets and then somebody met him and then he say wow this is a legend Kenyan legend what is he doing the streets and that's why how fun raising came into place so that he can come back to Kenya and his family disowned him the wife disowned him because for 34 years where have you been the son got married and then they stay now the son and the mother they stay in the same house he was chased from because he could not survive I went and I visited them we took a cup of tea with Henry Rono and the family and it was horrible surrounding because he lived a lonely life very lonely life this duration of him now before passing so he had no option but to go back to Kafsabet where he had bought a piece of land and again people came together to put a structure for him where he could stay so he stayed a lonely life so during covid time I went there to check on him and we had like two hours just talking because there is another guy and me who really went and had time even here we went to his home to just understand what was happening because we wanted to help to see where can we help we talked to the family but it could not be possible so Henry had to live so nobody one thing I want to send it very clear without contradicting myself I pray that nobody will come at this time that Henry Rono was back into the country and start boosting that we helped him nobody came to rescue this legend nobody came to him and I'm really waiting for such a person to come on so that I want to handle him head on without fear of anything because this man has died a miserable life for the last 5 years 4 years that has been in the country he live a frustrated life that's the life of Henry Rono a truck legend who passed on aged 72 I remember that he was a former champion who brought the glory and honour to the country wow great insights from John Vaslin thank you so much John where can people read your articles just before you go passion brought me into the game I am a professional I am a tech person I am a tech guru but I had to drop that when I left I left the country because I had issues here with the country I went to stay in the country for 7 years when I met a runner on the streets just a very quick minute I met a runner running then I'm like no this one must be a Kenyan so I had to follow that guy with a bicycle then he's like I asked him am I from Kenya then we talked then I said wow so from there we walked around then I found the passion I collected a few guys we said look here why don't we start something so I started a management for running I went back to Kenya because you are a Kenyan so I came and bought a property I put up something then with few athletes I contracted then that's how I started then people pulled away because of circumstances people had been deported by the late Kiplagat and so my sponsorship people actually a week was it was 7 days for sponsorship money of around 30 million to drop in then those people a reta chapter happened she was banned so I stayed for 2 years then after 2 years I could not sustain running the management so I dropped so I saw that there was a gap for telling the story of athletics so I came up with a blog atletics.co.ke that's where you can find me thank you so much John Vasen for coming and sharing here hope to see you again next Saturday thank you so much will be having fun zone and also be speaking to BMX freestyle members here on touchline don't go too far keep it Y254