RIP Henry K Rono

Goddamn…Whenever I feel like I’m in a bit of a rut, I go back to reading about his epic comeback from beer gut to world record holder. REST IN PEACE CHAMP

This is a very sad week for us.

Our country is going through a lot.

RIP to one of the greatest who ever lived. If not for the two boycotts he could have been a multiple medalist.

RIP

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This one sucks too.

Not as tragic as a runner dying in their prime but Rono's accolades were so legendary off the charts it reminds me of Kiptum. He did what had never been done before. And like Kiptum he never got to perform on the biggest stage as Kenya boycotted 1976 and 1980 Olympics.

And then I was just following the sport and people are like "hey this guy works as a skycap in New Mexico" and Henry would post on LetsRun occasionally. With Henry for the first time I realized our superstars are human as well.

Here's a great thread from 2005 on him. Has a great article from Marc Zeigler on him as well.

Thank you Henry for your brilliance! May you rest in peace.

I didn't know kenya boycotted those 2 olympics. Wonder why? One was in western world democracy and one in the soviet union. Too bad back then people were not jumpimg ship to become American citizen. We would be lucky to claim him.

I think he still owns the NCAA XC record, from the 70s!

It was sad to see this news. RIP, Henry. I will never forget racing you in your comeback attempt.

I wrote this four years ago on a Rono thread. Actually, I did more than race against him. I was his pacer so we talked a bit before and after the race.

He is the reason I am on this site....well, the article about him where he mentioned his comeback and posting on this site (Maybe it was in Runners World?)

RIP Mr. Rono

I posted in that original thread from years ago about my experience with Henry. Along with Nurmi and Zatopek, he was one of the original GOATs. A very talented, quiet, kind and troubled man who was abused by coaches and the system.

1976: New Zealand national rugby team did a tour of games in South Africa, despite the ban on South Africa participating in sport due to their racist apartheid policies. 25 African nations plus a few others boycotted the Olympics to protest this.

1980: Moscow was hosting the Olympics and the Soviet Union had just invaded Afghanistan. President Carter announced that the US would boycott the Moscow Olympics and asked allies to join. Kenya was one of the nations who did.

As a side note, Ethiopia was one of the 25 African countries who boycotted in 1976 but since their government was Soviet-aligned, they of course competed in Moscow in 1980 but then joined the USSR in their counter-boycott of the 1984 Olympics in LA. Four years later, Ethiopia and a few other communist countries (though not the USSR or East Germany) joined North Korea in a boycott of the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea.

I always thought John Chaplin put his own needs and desires ahead of Henry's. Watch some YouTube videos of Henry, his was a unique talent.

RIP, Mr. Rono. Today I will revisit your autobiography.

Rono, Henry. Olympic Dream. AuthorHouse, Bloomington, 2007.

And if you read through the thread which wejo linked you will find this writer posted.

Odhiambo, David Nandi. Kipligat’s Chance. Penguin Books Canada, Toronto, 2003.