The Big Interview With Stephen Ndungu

The Big Interview between Stephen Ndungu and Sports Editor Omulo Okoth of East African Standard.

Omulo – What lessons do the current crop of athlete draw from the death of Samuel Wanjiru?
Stephen – Current and future aspiring athletes ought to know that while the world loves their exploits, they should find it deep within themselves to stay grounded lest the attention of the earnings, lifestyle and all that comes with it start eating their very essence of life.

Omulo – Was Samuel Wanjiru the greatest long distance athlete we ever had?
Stephen – I’d say he had become one of Kenya’s leading marathoners having secured several titles and broken several records such as the Rotterdam half marathon, Den Haag and being the first Kenyan to win gold in Beijing Olympics and twice World Marathon Majors winner.

Omulo – Had he been alive today, what sort of athlete would he be? Would he have won the Olympics in London?
Stephen – Samuel passed on at a very tender age, with much underutilized potential. He was a promising talented marathoner of global status. With his handwork and determination, It’s my believe that he would have performed better than in his previous marathon races that he ran. And yes i believe he would have won the 2012 London Olympic marathon and defend his title and mostly run under two hours in marathon.

Omulo – If you are to hold anybody responsible for the death of Samuel Wanjiru, who would that person be?
Stephen -Circumstances surrounding his demise are still unclear. I wish to leave this to the ongoing investigations.Omulo – How can our sportsmen in general, and athletes in particular, avoid such situations that led to Wanjiru’s death?
Stephen -There are many shortcomings that face our athletes in certain aspects such as self-confidence, managing themselves and their finances and their relationships. To overcome such issues the sports fraternity should address issues of success management as part of training. They should offer both financial and social advice in order to enable them invest their finances in productive investments rather than misappropriating them and indulging in life’s pleasures.
However I believe that AK should set up institutions where the athletes should receive personal help on how to overcome the change of being from a person that was not known to the society to a celebrity overnight. It is very overwhelming and most times it hard to deal with it.It should also make a follow up even after the careers of the athletes end and support them with tools to empower them in the future, they should also work closely with the athletes to encourage the upcoming ones because the federation cannot be in all the places at a time.

Omulo – How can our sportsmen in general, and athletes in particular, avoid such situations that led to Wanjiru’s death?
Stephen – There are many shortcomings that face our athletes in certain aspects such as self-confidence, managing themselves and their finances and their relationships. To overcome such issues the sports fraternity should address issues of success management as part of training. They should offer both financial and social advice in order to enable them invest their finances in productive investments rather than misappropriating them and indulging in life’s pleasures.
However I believe that AK should set up institutions where the athletes should receive personal help on how to overcome the change of being from a person that was not known to the society to a celebrity overnight. It is very overwhelming and most times it hard to deal with it.It should also make a follow up even after the careers of the athletes end and support them with tools to empower them in the future, they should also work closely with the athletes to encourage the upcoming ones because the federation cannot be in all the places at a time.

It is time that the Athlete managers start an investment management for their athletes and support them long even after their hay days are over.

Omulo – How can you summarise the character of Samuel Kamau Wanjiru in one sentence?
Stephen – A hardworking, ambitious and determined athlete full of potential, a true Kenyan hero.

Omulo – How did the Kenyan community in UK and athletics world react to his death?
Stephen – It was a shock and state of disbelief to us as we woke to the morning news with media outlets bombarding us with the tragic news. It wasn’t easy nor will it be easy to sink the reality of this news. The athletics world also lost a great person who had a great sportsmanship and a wonderful, encouraging role model to upcoming athletes.

Omulo– What legacy has Samuel Kamau Wanjiru bequeathed to the athletics world?
Stephen – Samuel just showed the world that Heros are made not born. He has left a legacy that many upcoming athletes will have to work hard to get close to. His dominance in the road running circuit is an example and on top the 2008 Olympic marathon Gold medal for Kenya. The first of its kind.

Omulo – Tell me any other thing you know about Wanjiru, which the world did not know.
Stephen – One thing that the world did not know about Wanjiru is his will to help other upcoming poor Athletes.
After I founded an organization called Mt. Kenya Talents Development Centre I approached Samuel Wanjiru with the idea and without a question Wanjiru agreed to become the organization flag bearer and Goodwill Ambassador. That was about 5 months before Samuel mysteriously died.
He had grown so much fond of the idea such that he would call and talk to me for hours about it. One of the most recent and the last such occasion that I talked with Wanjiru about this was 16th April 2011. Just one month before his sad demise. Samuel had planned and mentioned he would carry the flag of MKTDC in the future, in every major and small race he was going to run. Remember Samuel Wanjiru was a product of my programme, Mt Kenya High Altitude Training Camp by then, currently Mt.Kenya Talents Development Centre which is also registered as International NGO by NGO Board of Kenya , in 1998-2002 before he went to Japan on a scholarship.
Samuel had heard about me from kids in a national primary school championship. He asked his Mum and Uncle to bring him to my camp in which i trained other 23 young men and women. Samuel was one of the youngest but i had no doubt in my mind he was the strongest in energy and endurance.

We hope that the current and past Athletes will dedicate their time in making this organization a success story.

Omulo – Have you maintained your relationship with the family of Wanjiru since his death?
Stephen – My relationship with Wanjiru’s family has got even stronger. Samuel was like a brother to me. For the 4 years he spent in Nyeri training before he went to Japan, he stayed in my parents’ house for four years. He was treated like one of my siblings and given equal opportunity by them.

He had great respect for my family, last year December together with some other athletes that i assisted and mentored in Nyeri, Samuel paid a surprise visit to my parents to thank them. All of them felt indebted especially to my mum and dad who treated them all as their kids and fed them. The success of Samuel is a bitter sweet story for me and all my family. I knew him when no one did.