Remembering Rono’s record-breaking run from 1978 in Norway

Despite breaking four world records in different events in a span of 81 days, Henry Rono, the long distance runner and one of best athletes Kenya has ever produced, still lost the 1978 Coca Cola sponsored “Sportsman of The Year’’ award to legendary golfer John Mucheru.

It was one of the closest competitions for the award now known as the Sports Personality of the Year Award (Soya). Being one of the panelists and a golf writer and player, yours truly voted for the late Mucheru, who had won all the national events in the country in addition to some international tournaments he won in Malaysia, and in Great Britain that year.

He became the first and last golfer to win the prestigious award. All the same, Rono was probably one of the most amazing athletes who would walk into an athletics competition without adequate preparation and win.

Rono, whose favourite hotel while in Nairobi city was the Hilton, arrived in Oslo, Norway and less than 12 hours later, he had set the world record in 3,000 metres in thrilling race. That was on June 27, 1978 at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo in front of more than 50,000 spectators.

It was a great moment for me and my friend Elisha Kasuku who had just participated in a World Walking Championship in another Norwegian town of Bergen, about 463 kilometres from Norway.

I had just finished a four-week study tour at the Nordlys Newspaper in Tromso, North of Norway, and spent few days in Oslo with Omondi wa Radoli, a former colleague at Nation Media Group who is still based in Norway.

It was a proud moment for us as Kenyans watching one of our own break the World record in a race in which he literally ran the last 400m alone. In the evening, we went to the “Speaker’s Corner Bar’’ which was a popular meeting place for Africans in Oslo. The barman was an Indian refugee from Uganda.

Being Kenyans, we were offered free drinks throughout that evening.

On Wednesday when Kasuku learnt of Rono’s demise, he said: “I am saddened to hear of my long time friend Henry Rono’s death. Rono was to compete in his first Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, in 1976. He was my room-mate. Unfortunately, Kenya boycotted the Games. My event was meant to be the first track final while Rono was due for the 5,000m heat,’’ said Kasuku.

“Rono is the best athlete Kenya has produced, and the Nandi Stadium should have been named after Rono. My God rest soul in peace.”