I refused to let a head injury keep me from sports action
Tyson Juma inches closer to the finish line at Nyayo Stadium during an Athletics Kenya Meet.
What you need to know:
- Tyson Juma, 23, is a fast rising sprinter with a personal best time of 10:59 in the 100m discipline.
- Born in Thika but raised in Migori, Tyson pivoted from rugby to athletics in 2021 after playing for Shamas Rugby Foundation and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.
- Chuma, as he is fondly nicknamed, has featured in three Athletics Kenya meets in the last year.
- His is a sporting family. His brother Evans plays basketball, Eric, Joyce and Kelvin are into Karate while their sister Mildred Juma is an amateur boxer. Tyson is the last born.
- He is a graduate of disaster management and emergency response from MMUST.
- He looks up to Asafa Powell of Jamaica because of their similar running form and physique, and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala for his dedication in sprints.
- During his rugby days, Tyson won the 2017 Braeburn Open, five University 7s’ circuits in 2020, was MMUST 7s’ top scorer in 2020. He finished in second place in the KRU Championship and was also the club top point scorer from 2018 to 2020.
- Tyson is a dog breeder.
- 1. Why did you quit rugby to join the 100m discipline in athletics?
I made the move mostly because of the injury I got on my head in 2020, which the doctors described as a skull depression. There were no broken bones but the ligaments were bent, which was a risky condition because the depression was quite deep. This made it difficult for me to go back to playing rugby. I didn’t want to risk my life again by going to the rugby pitch and so, like most sportsmen, I channeled my energy to the other thing I have always wanted to try out. I had been an athlete while in primary and high school, although I hadn’t taken running seriously. I stayed for four months without any physical activity after the diagnosis and to date, my skull is still healing
2. Has growing up with siblings who are also into sports contribute to your career growth?
It is amazing when you have support not just from your coaches and teammates but also from within your family. Our house never lacks sports talks and intense debates on the different sporting disciplines that we individually love. It is an interesting family dynamic because we sometimes train together, motivate each other, and go to watch games together. At the same time we are also very competitive. We continuously hold the torch up for one another because one of us succeeding means that everyone in the family has succeeded too. Knowing that I am surrounded by that kind of love and support is more than I could ever ask for.
3. How hard was the transition from rugby to athletics?
It wasn’t easy. It took me time to shape my body from a rugby player to that of a sprinter for efficient movement. I do miss rugby so I regularly watch it live and on TV, but I have also fallen in love with sprinting. It took me four months to get back to training after my injury. While recovering I kept active by doing stretches at home while getting guidance from my coach and watching YouTube videos. Also, going to the gym and tending to my dogs, which is my hobby, helped me cope with the frustrations. My elder sister who is also my coach continuously encouraged me to not give up. Slowly, I accepted my reality and gained clarity on what I wanted to achieve in the 100m sprints. I knew that bouncing back would be important in keeping me out of depression.
4. How has Ferdinand Omanyala’s success story inspired your own journey?
Ferdinand’s success is ground breaking for those of us interested in sprints because he has single-handedly shifted the world’s attention to Kenya’s short distance athletes. And just like me, he has showed that you can move from one sporting discipline, start over and still excel. I will forever be grateful because I am coming in at the perfect time, when even the heats attract over one hundred sprinters. This means that the level of competition has increased. I am lucky enough to call Omanyala my friend. We train together and push each other’s limits. He is the inspiration I need to keep working hard to achieve real success in sprints.
5. After your success in rugby, what is your goal in athletics?
For now I try to take each day at a time, just focusing more on my training, my discipline and commitment. I have a couple of races this year and my target is to lower my personal best time in each of them, and to qualify for the next Olympics.
