Running News Daily

Why Timothy Cheruiyot owes his successful career to his father

Timothy Cheruiyot has given a candid explanation of why he owes his successful career to his father.

Former world champion Timothy Cheruiyot has credited his father for encouraging him to take up athletics as a career after his secondary school education.

Cheruiyot is the first born in his family and he noted that after high school, he stayed home to help his father in farming. Life then got a little bit difficult for him and he ventured into blue collar jobs to make a living.

However, his father was not happy with the way his life was turning out and advised him to look for a training camp and he would support him. This was after his impressive runs in primary school and high school.

“When I finished form four I went home to help my father in farming…Life was difficult in 2012 and 2013 and at some point, I even worked at construction sites. In 2014, my father encouraged me to go and look for a camp and he would help me,” Cheruiyot said in an interview on the Safari za Mabingwa show.

“I heeded to his advice and in January 2014, I went for a camp closer to home and my friends helped me and I was there for three months. I then joined another camp and after one month, the owner paid for me to go to Nairobi,” he added.

After finding an athletics camp in Bomet, Cheruiyot trained for about three weeks before relocating to another camp where doors opened for him.

The manager of the camp at the time catered for his needs and paid for a trip for him to Nairobi to compete at the World Junior Championships trials but finished third and missed out on a slot to the global showpiece but his talent was recognised and that’s how he got a contract with the Kenya Prisons Service. Cheruiyot also met his longtime coach, Bernard Ouma through his effort in 2014.

The Olympic Games 1500m silver medallist noted that his parents would send him money to cater for his needs when he was at the camp.

They would sacrifice by selling poultry and trees just to make sure their son was comfortable. Being a first born, Cheruiyot is the only one in his family who runs.

“My parents always supported me because there were times I would call them when I didn’t have food and they would send me money…sometimes they would sell chicken or trees at home just to cater for me. I’m the first born and my siblings don’t compete but they are going to school,” Cheruiyot said.

“Athletics gave me a chance to compete in the Kenyan team after the World Relays in the Bahamas. I started running when I was in primary then proceeded to secondary school but I was not very serious,” he added.