BY BERNARD MOMANYI
NAIROBI, September 13 – Seven armed gunmen on Friday night raided the home of Olympic Marathon Champion Samuel Wanjiru and demanded money.
Police said the thugs were armed with machetes and pistols when they stormed the star’s Nyahururu home and demanded a share of his fortunes from Beijing.
“They did not steal anything. They simply left when they were told there was no money,” Nyahururu Police chief Charles Wasike said.
Wanjiru who returned to the country from China a fortnight ago was at home with four members of his family during the midnight attack.
Wasike said the family was held hostage for over half an hour as the thugs ransacked the house searching for money.
Wanjiru’s home is located in Muthaiga estate, about one Kilometer from Nyahururu Police station.
Wasike said they had received reports that the thugs were armed with two pistols and other crude weapons.
“Everybody is fine. There were no injuries reported,” Wasike said and added that no suspect had been arrested.
He said a manhunt had been launched in search of the gangsters who are said to be notorious in the region.
“We are also enhancing security patrols in this area to curb such cases,” he said.
Wanjiru first Kenyan to win Olympic men’s marathon Kenya wins two more gold medals
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| Kenya’s Samuel Kamau Wanjiru crosses the finish line during men’s marathon final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Samuel Kamau Wanjiru won the title. |
| Kenya’s Samuel Kamau Wanjiru crosses the finish line during men’s marathon final at the National Stadium. |
| Kenya’s Samuel Kamau Wanjiru |
Samuel Wanjiru celebrates after winning gold medal in the Olympic games men’s marathon on Sunday. It is Kenya’s first ever gold medal in Olympics marathon.
Sat, Aug 23, 2008 Kenya's Nancy Jebet Langat (R) flashes the victory sign Kenya showed her supremacy in middle distance running by bagging two Gold medals as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games reached its penultimate stage, when team captain Wilfred Bungei and Nancy Jebet Lagat emerged victorious in the 800 and 1500 metres finals respectively. Team captain Wilfred Bungei led by example leading from the start to finish completing the race in a time of 1 minute 44.65 seconds to beat Sudan's Ismail Ahmed Ismael to the second spot. World champion Alfred Kirwa Yego came from behind to win a bronze medal in the race. Former world junior champion Nancy Jebet Lagat sprinted in the final lap to comfortably win the 1,500m race in a personal best of 4 minutes 0.23 seconds. Iryna Lishchinska and Nataliya Tobias from Ukraine took the second and third positions respectively. Kenya also won Silver and Bronze in the men's 5000 metres race when Eliud Kipchoge and Edwin Soi finished in the second and third positions respectively behind Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele. Kenya is expected to bag more medals in tomorrow's men's marathon. The three week event comes to a close tomorrow at the National stadium in Beijing, China Minister launches Africa development agency
05/08/2008 -
Overseas Development Minister Peter Power will launch a new Irish development agency today focusing on eradicating poverty in Africa. Self Help Africa is the result of a recent Anglo-Irish merger between Irish NGO Self Help Development International and the UK-based charity Harvest Help.
Both groups have been working for the past 25 years implementing programmes to allow rural Africans grow enough food to earn a living.
Self Help Development International was set up in Ireland in 1984 in response to the devastating famine in Ethiopia.
One of its first sources of major investment was Bob Geldof’s Band Aid Trust, which provided more than €640,000 to carry out a rural development project in Ethiopia.
established in the United Kingdom following a wave of droughts in Zambia in 1985. The new agency, Self Help Africa, works in nine African countries – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Togo and Zambia.
It has no expatriate staff in the field, but instead employs local employees and works through partners and communities on all its projects, with a core staff of just 10 in Ireland and seven in the UK.
They provide support by ensuring simple and effective innovations to farming, managing
Source-Evening Echo News
Samuel Kamau Wanjiru
A Champion is born – His true story
Name: Samuel Kamau Wanjiru
Born: 10/11/1986
KAMAU`S BIRTH AND EDUCATION BACKGROUND
Samuel Kamau Wanjiru was born in Olkalau, Nyahururu on the 10th of November 1986. His single mother Hannah Wanjiru had two sons, Samuel Kamau and Simon Njoroge . From this humble background Samuel Kamau Wanjiru started his primary school education at Githunguri Primary School, 30km from Nyahururu town. Wanjiru participated in internal games and realized his athletic talent in 1994 when he was only eight years old and in standard three. Wanjiru`s education was characterized by abject poverty since his single mother Hannah Wanjiru could not afford shoes, lunch, books and to crown it all school fees which saw Kamau drop out of school in standard seven. He started training at home but was unable to concentrate and so joined MFAE athletics club under Coach Francis Kamau. In order to fully concentrate on his athletics, Samuel decided to train away from home. In the year 2000 he participated in the Kenya National Primary Athletics Championships in Kisumu town in Western Kenya. He finished 3rd in the 10,000m. The meeting was attended by a couple of coaches who also noted Samuel’s potential. However, these coaches were unable to pay for his upkeep leaving Samuel in a dilemma. He was in a limbo situation, not knowing where to turn.
MFAE CLUB {MUTUAL FAIR EXCHANGES}
About 200km North East of Nairobi at the foot of Mount Kenya, in the high altitude town of Nyahururu, Kenya`s highest town, is a club called Mutual Fair Exchanges athletics club [MFAE]. This club is located just a few miles from the majestic Thompson falls. At the base of the Aberdare ranges, Joseph Thompson from Scotland was the first European to see the water falls. He not only lent his name to the falls but also to the elegant Thompson’s gazelle. The main advantage about training in this area is that it is situated at an altitude of between 3000m to 7800m above sea level. This is particularly advantageous to distance runners as it activates/strengthens the cardiovascular system, and makes training at altitude very hard. The runners are put through a training regime worked out by Coach Francis Kamau. He was also the first coach to notice the talent behind Samuel Kamau Wanjiru.
BEST HOME
Samuel came to the realization that east or west home is the best so he returned home to his single mother and brother Simon Njoroge. Although his mother was happy at his return she was also in a fix because she felt that she was not able to support her two sons upkeep especially nurturing her first born son’s new found talent in athletics. Being a religious woman she kept praying to God for His divine intervention.
LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
As Samuel continued to stay with his mother in abject poverty he remembered whilst in Kisumu he had met some athletes who train in Nyeri at Mt.Kenya High Altitude Training Camp (Central Kenya) under mentor Stephen Ndung’u. He expressed his wish to join the camp (if given permission by his family). According to Kikuyu culture, a single mother is not allowed to make a sole decision regarding her children, she therefore consulted her brother John Mwihia (Samuel’s uncle). They all agreed to travel to the Nyeri camp (a distance of about 100km) to see mentor Stephen Ndung’u and hand over Samuel Kamau to him (if he agreed). On their way to Nyeri, Samuel’s uncle Mwihia dug deep in his pockets and bought 1kg each of sugar and rice. This is because in Kikuyu culture it is not right to pay a visit empty handed. They arrived at Ndungu’s home and after their discussion Samuel was left in the Camp. Whilst here he trained very well and won several races (local races, Nyeri district cross country and other local road races). Due to his good performances Samuel Kamau became a hero in Nyeri, his mentor Stephen Ndung’u started to look for a sponsor to enable Samuel pursue his athletic career abroad. In 2002 Ndung’u spoke to Japanese athletic promoter Mr. Sunnichi Kobayashi who is based in Kenya. Samuel went to Nairobi where they began the process of organising his travel documents. He left for Japan in march 2002 and joined Sendai Ekuei Gakuen High School in Sendai city where he studied the Japanese language and the culture for 3 years.
ACHIEVEMENTS
In 2004 he finished his studies and gained employment with Toyota Motor Corporation in Kyusu Japan. On the 11th September 2005 he broke the World Half Marathon record during the Rotterdam Half Marathon (in the Netherlands) in 59:16. This record was later broken by Haile Gebreselassie on the 15th January 2006 during the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix Arizona (USA) in 58:55. While in Kenya he trains in Nyahururu with his training partner Isaac Macharia, winner of the 2005 Nagano Marathon in Japan, Samuel was inspired by John Ngugi the first man to win five world cross country titles and also 1988 Seoul Olympic 5000 Metres gold medalist .
PERSONAL BESTS
1500 metres – 3:5028 – Nagasaki – 30-07-2003
5000 metres -13:12:40 – Hiroshima – 29-04-2005
10,000 metres – 26:41:75 – Brussels – 26-8-2005
10 kilometres – 27:27 – Den Haag – 17-3-2007
15 kilometres – 41:29 – Ras Al Khaimah – 9-2-2007
20 kilometres – 55:31 – Den Haag – 17-3-2007
Half Marathon – 58:33 – Den Haag – 17-3-2007
Marathon – 2:05:24 – London – 13-04-2008
On 09/02/2007 in United Arab Emirates, he again broke the World Half Marathon record in Ras Khaimah International Half Marathon running 58:53. On 17/03/2007 in Hague Netherlands he bettered his own World Record of 58:53 during the Fortis City-Pier-City Half Marathon. He also broke the 20km World Record on route with 55:31. His new Half Marathon World Record stands at 58:35. At an age of 21 Kamau who is only 1.63ft and weighs 52kg has achieved part of what seemed impossible in his life, Samuel is coached by a Japanese coach Mr. Koichi Morisaita and Mentored by Stephen Ndung’u, finest pace maker (‘King Maker’) and World marathon runner.
Samuel has also established himself as a accomplished Marathon runner. His debut marathon was in Fukuoka on 02/12/2007. Samuel stormed to victory, breaking Haile Gebrselassie’s course record in a time of 2:06:39. Samuel’s second marathon was even more impressive, with a second place in the London Marathon in a time of 2:05:24, breaking the old course record (and previous World record mark).
Beijing Olympics – 2008. Samuel Kamau Wanjiru becomes the New Olympic Marathon champion, Olympic Marathon record holder and the first Kenyan ever to attain gold in an Olympic Marathon gold!
The Beijing olympic games was a success story for Kenyan athletes. Samuel Wanjiru became the first Kenyan to win gold in marathon, the only athlete who was close to winning it was Douglas Wakiihuri in the 1988 Seoul Summer olympics (20 years ago). Samuel was just2 years old! Wakiihuri took silver and the gold was won by Gerlindo Bordin of Italy. Samuel also broke the 24 years old, olympic marathon (previously at 2:09:21), a record set by Carlos Alberto Lopes of Portugal in the 1984 summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Samuel’s next target is to break Haile Gebrselassie’s world marathon record of 2:04:26 which he set in the Berlin marathon on the 30th September 2007. Samuel has already set his eye on the London 2012 Olympic marathon where he hopes to repeat his winning formula from Beijing.
MISSION
To nurture his vision of helping young and poor youths, Wanjiru has visited many children homes in his area (e.g. Heaven Eyes Children Home) and is paying secondary school fees for some children. When he broke the World record, he donated the $25,000 bonus to the children’s home where his mother works in Nyahururu. Samuel has confirmed that he is going to help more children in realizing their talent and encourage them not to lose hope. Everybody has potential.
Thugs raid Olympic Marathon Champion Samuel Wanjiru’s home
