When Julien Wanders first came to Kenya in 2014, his main goal was to train and be a world beating athlete, just like the Kenyans he admired.
Iten, in Elgeyo Marakwet County, was ideal for his mission.
But little did he know that he would gain more than he hoped for in this famous high altitude address that is listed as a World Athletics Heritage site.
Last Thursday, the Swiss star tied the knot with his long-time Kenyan girlfriend Joan Kiprop at a colourful lakeside ceremony in Naivasha, Nakuru County.
Joan Kiprop reads her vows to Swiss athlete Julien Wanders in Naivasha last Thursday.
Photo credit: Pool
Nation Sport caught up with the fresh couple at their newly-built house in Iten where they shared their journey of love.
The two-hour wedding was a combination of two traditions – Swiss and Kalenjin - starting at about 2pm and ending at 6am the next day with various events lined up.
Their choice of Naivasha was to make sure that the bridegroom’s parents, who were travelling from Nairobi, would get a convenient location.
The two met in Iten when Kiprop was a teacher at Sing’ore Girls High School and they became friends.
A pre-wedding, commonly known as koito, a traditional Kalenjin engagement ceremony, was held on December 23 last year where the two families met and tried to merge the two traditions.
An archive photograph of Julien Wanders proposing to his long time fiancée Joan Kiprop in Mombasa.
Photo credit: Pool
“I met my beautiful wife in Iten in 2017 through a friend and we started dating and we are happy we have kept the friendship until I proposed to her in Malindi, Kilifi County, on December, 28, 2022, and she said yes,” Wanders narrated.
“Exactly one year later, we tied the knot in Naivasha and this is an achievement for me,” said Wanders, who loves eating pasta served with chicken.
He was impressed by the traditional Kalenjin ceremony saying that it is quite different from what is done in Switzerland.
“What was special and interesting was the negotiation of the bride price and the fact that we had to explain everything to my parents, and the exchanging of gifts from both families was really exciting.
The newly-wed couple share their story with Nation Sport during the exclusive New Year’s Day interview at their home in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
“Back at home, there are no such things because you just marry the one you love, and no dowry is paid,” explained Wanders.
Kiprop said that she was happy to have a home, finally, and is optimistic that her husband would improve on his elite running career now that he is officially married.
Kiprop, a second born in a family of three, used to run but was not serious about it despite being good in sprints.
Her parents wanted her to concentrate more on education. She remembers when he first wanted to propose while in Switzerland but it was so cold and she insisted on going back home.
“I came home a week earlier than him but he had insisted that I remain behind and wait for him. But it was so cold I just wanted to get back home. After arriving home, he planned for a trip to Malindi and I remember he was so anxious and I didn’t know what was going on.
“On reaching Malindi, he took me for a walk along the beach and that is when he proposed to me and I said yes. It was such an exciting moment because I didn’t expect it,” narrated Kiprop.
She explained that they had a lot of sessions with Wanders’ parents in which she took them through the Kalenjin culture so that it would be easy for them when they finally came to meet her parents.
Concentrate more in training
Wanders believes that after getting a wife, one is able to concentrate more in training and have peace of mind which will also help him focus on the Olympic Games which is a crucial event in his career.
Wanders, who is the European 10-kilometre and half marathon record holder, has been training in Iten throughout his elite running career after getting interested in athletics at the age of six years in Geneva.
While in school, he used to do all events from running and field events until when he was 15 years and started specializing in the middle distance races.
His love for Iten came when he used to see Iten-based athletes winning various events and when he asked about it, he was told it’s a town based in Kenya and he was immediately interested in touring.
“I was really impressed because every race I went to, Kenyans were always in front and some Ethiopians, and I did more research. I read books, I watched documentaries and I decided that I must head to Kenya if I was to be a strong athlete,” said Wanders.
Before heading to Kenya, he got an opportunity to meet Kenyans at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Oregon, USA, where he took advantage and got to know more about the training conditions in Iten.
He was convinced that indeed that was the destination to settle for. After high school, he decided to pack his bags and head to Kenya in 2014 where he stayed for a one-month training camp and he impressed by his performance in the high altitude area.
He later went back home and talked to his parents, telling them that he wanted to focus on his training in Kenya.
But they were worried because in Switzerland, running is not a full-time job, but, in the long run, they let him go.
“I came back for another three months and when I went to compete in a race, I performed so well and that is when after finishing the race I came back to Kenya and continued with my training which I was now enjoying,” he added.
From 2016, he decided to fully stay and train in Kenya and he was improving bit by bit, eventually breaking the European record in the 10-kilometre road race.
In 2018, he represented his country at the World Half Marathon Championships where he came in eighth before breaking the European half marathon record at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in 2019 where he clocked 59 minutes and 13 seconds.
Julien Wanders (second from right) stays in touch with Uganda’s multiple world record holder Joshua Cheptegei (centre) in a road race. Wanders married his long time Kenyan fiancée Joan Kiprop in Naivasha last week.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
In 2020, he bagged yet another title after he broke the 10km European record when he clocked 27:13 in Valencia, Spain.
He has been in and out of competition due to injuries but is now good to go after completely getting healed as he targets to compete at the Olympic Games in Paris, France in August.
“My training has been good so far but I will be competing in various races as part of my build-up ahead of the Olympic Games where I will be targeting to compete in the 10,000m race,” said Wanders.
