Premium
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
