Henry Rono, a Kenyan long-distance runner who set four world records in 81 days, died at the age of 72, athletics officials announced on Thursday.
In 1978, Rono set four world records in the 3,000m, 5,000m, and 3,000m steeplechase events while attending Washington State University in the United States.
He “was one of the best long distance athletes Kenya has ever produced,” Kipchoge Keino, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and former chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee, said AFP.
“It’s unfortunate he didn’t compete in the 1980 Olympic games, he would easily have come home with at least two gold medals.”
According to Athletics Kenya, Rono has been in the hospital for the previous ten days.
Rono, who formerly resided in a parking park in the United States, returned to Kenya in 2019 after three decades, according to media sources.
“I was a baby when Henry left the country. I’m now 43,” his brother told Kenya’s The Standard newspaper at the time.