{"id":19232,"date":"2020-12-15T22:14:26","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T22:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/kenya\/?p=19232"},"modified":"2020-12-15T22:14:26","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T22:14:26","slug":"peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken","title":{"rendered":"Peter Koech: Kenyan track star who quit the day his record was broken"},"content":{"rendered":"

AfricaPress-Kenya:<\/strong> It became clear to him that his time to exit the stage was beckoning when his world record was spectacularly broken in a race he was taking part in.<\/p>\n

During his prime, Peter Koech smashed the\u00a03000m steeplechase world record in Stockholm in 1989.<\/p>\n

Three years later in 1992, the 8:05.35 world record was obliterated by compatriot Moses Kiptanui during a blistering\u00a0Golden League\u00a0race in Zurich.<\/p>\n

With his record gone and signs all clear that there were new kids on the block, it was important for him to walk away.<\/p>\n

To leave the sport he\u2019d fell in love with years back. It was time to say goodbye. And the legend migrated to the US, where he kept a low profile, until March this year, when he returned to his Arwos Village in Nandi.<\/p>\n

But records are set to be shattered – that is the spirit and the intrigue of sports.<\/p>\n

He is among the legendary Kenyan athletes who laid the foundation for the current country\u2019s racing prowess.<\/p>\n

Koech recalls that he was a distant seventh in the race where his record fell.<\/p>\n

As he sips a cold drink in a blustery shade outside his Silver Inn hotel in Kapsabet town, Nandi County, it is the Stockholm world record moment, which is still stuck in his mind, 28 years later.<\/p>\n

The Zurich race, where his record was broken as he witnessed, remains the lowest moment in his athletics career.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Koech said even though his record was broken, he was happy that it was a\u00a0Kenyan\u00a0who set the new time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was running together with Kiptanui when he broke my record. My age was advancing and I was nowhere near the podium. I knew the age factor was catching up with me and it was time for younger athletes to shine,\u201d Koech said.<\/p>\n

He became a professional athlete in 1983, qualifying to represent Kenya at the 1984 Olympic Games (in 3000m steeplechase, 5,000m and 10,000m) in Los Angeles, California.<\/p>\n

Koech, however, could not take part in the Olympics after he sustained a leg injury during training.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got an injury that dealt a blow to my debut at the 1984 Olympic Games. I went to the US in 1985 to train and compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) after I secured an athletics scholarship to study at the Washington State University,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a finalist at the world championships encouraged me and I set my eyes on the 1988 Olympic Games (in Seoul, South Korea). I finished second at the national trials and yearned for another attempt for glory at the Olympics after the first failed attempt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Koech won a silver medal in a time of 8:06.79 at the 1988 race that was won by compatriot Julius Kariuki, who ran an Olympic record of 8:05.51.<\/p>\n

He says he was challenged by the loss to Kariuki and began a rigorous training programme to lower his personal best.<\/p>\n

He set his eyes on the Golden League in 1989, where he set a world record.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

His countryman Henry Rono had shattered the 3000m steeplechase world record 11 years earlier in 1978 in a time of 8.05.4.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it was possible to break a world record. I first ran in Lucerne (Switzerland) that year and I had four days to run in Stockholm. I used the four days to prepare for a world record pace. I followed what I needed to and it happened!\u201d Koech recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the best moment of my life and career. I had ran a memorable 5000m race with Henry Rono (the then reigning world record-holder). He won in a world record time and I came in second. I was happy to break his record later,\u201d the\u00a0track\u00a0legend said.<\/p>\n

Koech had joined the military in the mid-1970s, before leaving for the US to focus on his athletics career.<\/p>\n

Unlike retired military men who carry the no-nonsense military mien into retirement, Koech\u2019s stern look is camouflaged with a beaming smile. He is an easy-goer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing at the military was helpful. It is while there that I discovered I had a talent in athletics and was offered better coaching and running opportunities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While in the US, he lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his American wife and their three boys.<\/p>\n

In Kenya, he said his favourite training base was Nyahururu where they trained together with fellow military men from the Transport Battalion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI continued training in Albuquerque because I competed in masters races in the US. Albuquerque was similar to Kenya. It was not snowy during winter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His return to Kenya in March and amidst the Covid-19 pandemic marked a new chapter in Koech\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

With a family in the US, a hotel to run in his hometown as well as farms to manage in Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties, the legend is determined to succeed in his endeavours.<\/p>\n

While in the US, he worked for a sub-contractor who does ticketing for Delta Airlines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AfricaPress-Kenya: It became clear to him that his time to exit the stage was beckoning when his world record was spectacularly broken in a race he was taking part in. During his prime, Peter Koech smashed the\u00a03000m steeplechase world record in Stockholm in 1989. Three years later in 1992, the 8:05.35 world record was obliterated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":19233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,17],"tags":[6915,377],"class_list":["post-19232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-sport","tag-peter-koech","tag-record"],"yoast_head":"\nPeter Koech: Kenyan track star who quit the day his record was broken - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It became clear to him that his time to exit the stage was beckoning when his world record was spectacularly broken in a race he was taking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Peter Koech: Kenyan track star who quit the day his record was broken\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It became clear to him that his time to exit the stage was beckoning when his world record was spectacularly broken in a race he was taking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-15T22:14:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2020\/12\/kenyan_track_star_wh5fd80bad12143.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"914\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"497\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Peter Koech: Kenyan track star who quit the day his record was broken\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-15T22:14:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken\"},\"wordCount\":835,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2020\/12\/kenyan_track_star_wh5fd80bad12143.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Peter Koech\",\"record\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sport\/peter-koech-kenyan-track-star-who-quit-the-day-his-record-was-broken\",\"name\":\"Peter Koech: Kenyan track star who quit the day his record was broken - 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