• In only 81 days, the 72-year-old, broke four world records - the 10,000m where he clocked 27:22.5, the 5,000m in 13:08.4, the 3,000m steeplechase 8:05.4 and the 3,000m in 7:32.1, an achievement unparalleled in the history of distance running.
• Long before the late Kelvin Kiptum and Eliud Kipchoge rewrote the distance running record books, Rono set the athletics world on fire with his exploits. One of the pioneers in Kenyan distance running.
Image: IAAF
Kenyan running icon Henry Rono etched his name in history with multiple world records but despite his unparalleled achievements, he passed away without realising his Olympic dream.
Rono died on Thursday at Nairobi South Hospital, where he had been hospitalised. The legend died just three days after celebrating his 72nd birthday.
Long before the late Kelvin Kiptum and Eliud Kipchoge rewrote the distance running record books, Rono set the athletics world on fire with his exploits.
Sports CS Ababu Namwamba has described him as a true patriot further adding that the nation and indeed the world had lost an icon.
“Another sad day for Kenya as we lose former 3,000m steeplechase and 5,000m great, Henry Rono. A true national patriot,” Ababu said.
Rono’s running prowess reached its zenith during the 1978 season.
In only 81 days, he broke four world records - the 10,000m where he clocked 27:22.5, the 5,000m in 13:08.4, the 3,000m steeplechase 8:05.4 and the 3,000m in 7:32.1, an achievement unparalleled in the history of distance running.
He lowered the 10,000m record by almost eight seconds, the 5000m by 4.5, the steeplechase by 2.6, and the 3000 by three seconds.
However, Rono never showed his true prowess at the most iconic stage, the Olympics after Kenya boycotted in 1976 and 1980.
In 1984 when the country was back in the Olympics, he was no longer competing.
Rono, who was inspired by two-time Olympic champion Kip Keino to take up running, earned a call-up to the 1976 Olympic Games in the 3,000m steeplechase and 5,000m but did not make it to Montreal because of the country's boycott.
In his book titled 'Henry Rono: Olympic Dream, he states that he regrets not having taken part in the Olympics and views it as a missed opportunity.
"Not taking part in the Olympics was a missed opportunity and a significant disappointment in my career," he stated.
He explained that the boycott of the Olympics by Kenya was a political decision which he had no control over.
The man famously known as the Nandi Warrior spent close to 40 years in the United States, having arrived there in 1976 on an athletics scholarship at Washington State University.
While at Washington State, Rono became only the third runner in history (after Gerry Lindgren and Steve Prefontaine) to win the NCAA Cross Country Championship three times (1976, 1977, and 1979).
His winning time of 28:07 in 1976 remains the fastest 10,000m cross-country time in NCAA history. He was also the NCAA steeplechase champion in 1978 and 1979 and the NCAA Indoor champion in the 3,000m in 1977.
He improved the 5000m world record in 1981 in Norway, where he clocked 13:06.20. That same year, he also won the 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Canada.
In July 1978, he won the 10,000m (27:58.9) and 3,000m steeplechase (8:15.82) gold medals at the All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria.
Although he was never quite as dominant as he was in 1978, Rono continued to run and compete at the same level for the next four years, running the world’s fastest 5,000m of the year (13:19) and winning the NCAA cross country championships in 1979.
He further ran one of the fastest 10,000m races in 1980 (27:31.68) and broke another 5,000m world record (13:06.20) in 1981 in Knarvik, Norway.
Upon retirement, he coached school athletics in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before returning to Kenya in 2019.
In his book, he described teaching as his main calling, “Running to me was second nature, education was my weakness.”
The icon's career was, however, not without its faults battling alcoholism for the better part of his life and falling from hero to zero.
In 2008, however, Rono, in an interview with IAAF stated that he was in recovery and was seeking to regain his dignity.
"I'm a recovering alcoholic but I've been sober for the last seven years. I believe I've recovered my dignity and my place in society," he stated.
He further went on to reflect on his record-breaking spree stating, “I’ve been to the top of the highest mountain and then down to the bottom of the world.
" Looking back now, I can remember what happened in 1978 (when I set world records over 3000m, 5000m, 10,000m, and the 3000m steeplechase) but then the next eight years are more-or-less a blank.”
Rono further stated in his book that poor sports management both locally and internationally in his time led to his decline.
“Sports management in Kenya and abroad was poor. There were no structures in place to support athletes, especially Africans,” he noted.
The multiple record breaker will not only be remembered as the pioneer of long-distance running in the nation but also as a good example of endurance.