Henry Rono

Information about Henry Rono

Medal record
Men's Athletics
Competitor for Kenya
All-Africa Games
Gold	1978 Algiers	10.000 m
Gold	1978 Algiers	3.000 m steeplechase

Henry Rono (born February 12, 1952 in Kapsabet) is a former Kenyan athlete, considered a seminal figure of Kenyan distance running.

Biography

Rono was born in Nandi Hills, Kenya, into the Nandi tribe. He started running while at primary school. Since 1977 he attended the Washington State University, along with his compatriot Samson Kimobwa, who broke the 10,000 meter world record in 1977. He was coached there by John Chaplin. More Kenyan runners would later enroll at the Washington State, including Bernard Lagat, Mike Kosgei, and Patrick Muturi. While at Washington State, Rono became only the third person in history (after Gerry Lindgren and Steve Prefontaine) to win the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship three times, doing so in 1976, 1977, and 1979. He was also NCAA steeplechase champion in 1978 and 1979 and NCAA Indoor Champion in the 3000 meters in 1977.

The peak of Rono's running career was the 1978 season. In a span of only 81 days, he broke four world records: the 10,000 meters (27:22.5), the 5,000 meters (13:08.4), the 3,000 meters steeplechase (8:05.4), and the 3,000 meters (7:32.1); an achievement unparalleled in the history of distance running. Equally impressive were the large margins by which he reduced each record, lowering the 10,000 meter record by almost 8 seconds, the 5,000 by 4.5, the steeplechase by 2.6, and the 3,000 by a full three seconds. In the same year he also won the 5000 m and the 3000 m steeplechase gold medals at the Commonwealth Games. Unfortunately, it is believed that there are no video recordings of any of his 1978 record-breaking races. Among his other notable performances was is steeplechase / 5000 m double in one day during qualifying at the NCAA championships at the University of Oregon at Eugene's Hayward Field. He set meet records in both events despite running both as those they were workouts, running 8:12.39 and 13:22. He won 10,000 metres and 3000 metres steeplechase gold medals at the 1978 All-Africa Games

Although he was never quite as dominant as he was in 1978, Rono continued to run and compete at the same high level for the next four years, running the world's fastest 5,000 meters and winning the NCAA cross country race in 1979, running one of history's fastest 10,000 meter races in 1980, having a strong year in the 5,000 meters with another world record in 1981, and running history's third fastest 5,000 meters as well as twice running under 27:30 to come within seconds of his world record for 10,000 meters in 1982. In the years following his triumphs in 1978, his success became more sporadic as it was hampered by a drinking problem and weight gain. In 1981, he ran several high quality 5,000 meter races, breaking his 5,000 m world record near the end of the summer season with a time of 13:06.20, reportedly after having spent the better part of the race day sobering up from a drinking binge on the night before. Rono would never get to compete at the Olympics, as his country boycotted both the 1976 and the 1980 Olympic Games and by 1984 he was no longer competing.

The years after retirement have been particularly hard for Rono. Apart from struggling with alcoholism, he apparently mismanaged his earnings. (He never had an agent or a financial adviser.) He was soon penniless and in the 1990s spent some time in a homeless shelter in Washington D.C..

Despite his relatively short career, Rono continues to be celebrated in athletic circles. His 3,000 m steeplechase world record (8:05.4) lasted for 11 years, and as of 2007 still stands as the NCAA record.

Today Rono has recovered from alcoholism and is coaching high school athletics in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and after turning 55 in February of 2007 is attempting to break the world masters mile record for the 55-59 age group.

External links

Records
Preceded by Brendan Foster	Men's 3,000 m World Record Holder June 27, 1978 – August 20, 1989	Succeeded by Said Aouita
Preceded by Samson Kimobwa	Men's 10,000 m World Record Holder June 11, 1978 – July 2, 1984	Succeeded by Fernando Mamede
Awards
Preceded by Alberto Juantorena	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1978	Succeeded by Sebastian Coe

Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sports events that involve running, throwing and jumping. The name is derived from the Greek word "athlon" meaning "contest".
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Motto
"Harambee" (Swahili)
"Let us all pull together"
Anthem
Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu
"Oh God of All Creation"
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The All-Africa Games, sometimes called the African Games or Pan African Games, are a regional multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).
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Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 metres Amadou MeitÃ©
10.35 Peter Okodogbe
Nigeria 10.45 Ohene Karikari
Ghana 10.46
200 metres El Kashief Hassan
Sudan 20.77 Patrice OurÃ©
20.90 Roland Joe Siai-Siai
Nigeria 20.
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February 12 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s
1949 1950 1951 - 1952 - 1953 1954 1955

Year 1952 (MCMLII
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Kapsabet is a town in the Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It is the capital of Nandi District. Kapsabet hosts a municipal council and divisional headquarters of Kapsabet administrative division.
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Motto
"Harambee" (Swahili)
"Let us all pull together"
Anthem
Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu
"Oh God of All Creation"
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Nandi Hills is a highland area of lush green rolling hills at the edge of the Great Rift Valley in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The scenic area is known for its tea estates, and is home to many world-renowned athletes, including Kipchoge Keino, Wilfred Bungei, Henry Rono and
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The Nandi is a Kenyan ethnic group or tribe living in the highland areas of the Nandi Hills in Rift Valley Province; they form a sub-group of the Kalenjin. Before British colonization, they were sedentary cattle-herders, sometimes also practicing agriculture; their settlements were
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Washington State University (WSU) is a major public research university in Pullman, Washington. The state's land-grant university, WSU has a mission of teaching, research and public service, and offers more than 200 fields of study.
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Competitor for United States
World Championships
Gold 2007 Osaka 1500 m
Gold 2007 Osaka 5000 m
Competitor for Kenya
Olympic Games
Silver 2004 Athens 1500 m
Bronze 2000 Sydney 1500 m
World Championships

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Gerald ("Gerry") Paul Lindgren (born March 9, 1946 in Spokane, Washington) is an American track and field runner who is widely recognized as having been the best high school long distance runner in the United States at the time, and perhaps the best ever.
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Steve Roland Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) (nicknamed Pre) was an American Olympic runner who inspired a running boom in the 1970s along with contemporaries Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers.
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NCAA Men's Cross Country Champions

Division I

The Division I championship race has been run at different distances. From 1938 to 1964 the race was four miles; from 1965 to 1975, six miles; and from 1976 to the present the race has been 10,000 meters.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1940s 1950s 1960s - 1970s - 1980s 1990s 2000s
1975 1976 1977 - 1978 - 1979 1980 1981

Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII
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world record progression for the Men's 10,000 metres, as recognised by the IAAF.

Record Athlete Nat Venue Date
31:20.8 ^[1] Hannes Kolehmainen Finland Stockholm, Sweden July 8 1912
30:58.
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The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada from August 3-12 1978.

Medals by country

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Canada 45 31 33 109
2 England 27 27 33 87
3 Australia 24 33 27 84
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National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" or "N-C-Two-A" ) is a voluntary association of about 1,200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the
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University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities.
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Eugene is a common (masculine) first name that comes from the Greek eugenes (Greek- ευγενής, "Noble" ). The name shares a root with the word eugenics.
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Hayward Field at University of Oregon is one of the most well-known historic track and field stadiums in the United States. It has been the home to the University of Oregon Track and Field teams since 1919.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
1978 1979 1980 - 1981 - 1982 1983 1984

Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI
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Olympic Games (often referred to simply as The Olympics or The Games^[1]) is an international multi-sport event subdivided into summer and winter sporting events. The summer and winter games are each held every four years (an Olympiad^[2]).
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The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were held in 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. These are the summer Olympic Games organized by the International Olympic Committee.
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1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were held in Moscow in the Soviet Union. Another candidate in the bid to organize the Olympics was Los Angeles.
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For the song by Starsailor, see .

Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism refers to any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages despite the
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Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

1960s 1970s 1980s - 1990s - 2000s 2010s 2020s
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

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For the band, see .