Ruto Renames Kericho Green Stadium After First Kenyan To Win Olympic Medal

President William Ruto has renamed Kericho Green Stadium to Wilson Kiprugut Chumo Stadium in honour of the athlete who became the first Kenyan to win an Olympic medal.

Ruto was leading the country in marking the 60th Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kericho County at the stadium where thousands of Kenyans filled it to the rafters ahead of the fete.

"In conclusion, allow me to celebrate Kiprugut Chumo, the first Kenyan to win an Olympic medal, by renaming the Kericho Green Stadium after him. I think he deserves it," he announced in his speech.

An old photo of legendary Kenyan athlete, Wilson Kiprugut Chumo. /X

Kiprugut was a Kenyan sprinter and middle-distance runner who competed at the 1964 Tokyo and 1968 Mexico Olympics and won two medals in the 800-metre event. He wrote history books by being the first person from Kenya to ever win an Olympic medal.

In 1964 he also ran 400 metres but failed to reach the final.

His final major international tournament was the 1968 Summer Olympics, where he won silver in the 800 metres after being edged out of first place by Ralph Doubell of Australia.

During his career, Kiprugut held East African records in both the 800-metre and the 880-yard events.

Kiprugut got his start in track and field athletics as a schoolboy and participated in his first major tournament in 1958 when he ran in that year’s East African championship. It was here that he was spotted by scouts from the Kenyan Army and brought into military service, where he eventually rose to the rank of sergeant.

His main job, however, was to train for middle-distance track events, and he made his intercontinental tournament debut at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. 

He retired from active competition in 1969 and remained with the army as a fitness instructor until 1974. He later ran a farm near his home town of Kericho prior to his death on November 3, 2022, after a long illness.

Kiprugut was notably not the only Kenyan athlete honoured during the Mashujaa Day celebrations. President Ruto also celebrated Faith Kipyegon for breaking world records in the 1,500 and 5,000-metre races, becoming the first woman to win titles at both races in Budapest, Hungary, and Paris, France respectively. 

She also set a mile world record at the Monaco Diamond League on July 21, 2023.

"Faith is celebrated for her dedication to sports. She is the current world record holder for 1500 metres and a former world record holder for 5000 metres. She won a gold medal in 1500 metres at both the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics," he said. 

Kipyegon was among 157 heroes and heroines honoured from across divides for their contributions. Others included World Marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum, and former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta's trainer, Douglas Wakiihuri.

"He (Kiptum) has competed in and won three marathons so far, including two top-tier World Marathon Majors, securing between December 2022 and October 2023 three of the top six times ever run."

Wakiihuri became the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in the 1990 Commonwealth Marathon. He held the record for 17 years until 2007 when Luke Kibet became the second Kenyan to win a gold medal at the same event.

Kiptum on his part was honoured for his exploits during the Chicago marathon when he broke legendary marathoner Eliud Kipchoge's world record.

The Kericho Green stadium was upgraded to a 10,000-seater capacity stadium with two VIP lounges, two changing rooms, terraces and paved parking.

It was upgraded for the event at a cost of Ksh400 million, according to the Ministry of Sports.