President William Ruto has renamed Kericho Green Stadium after Wilson Kiprugut Chumo, the first Kenyan to win an Olympic medal.
The President announced on Friday during the Mashujaa celebrations held at the stadium.
"Allow me to celebrate Kiprugut Chumo, the first Kenyan to win an Olympic medal, by renaming the Kericho Green Stadium after him," Ruto announced.
Kiprugut was a Kenyan sprinter and middle-distance runner.
He competed at the 1964 Tokyo and 1968 Mexico Olympics and won two medals in the 800 metres event. He was the first person from Kenya to ever win an Olympic medal.
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In 1964 he also ran 400 metres but failed to reach the final.
His final major international tournament was the 1968 Summer Olympics, where he won silver in the 800 metres after being edged out of first place by Ralph Doubell of Australia.
During his career, Kiprugut held East African records in both the 800-metre and the 880-yard events.
Kiprugut got his start in track and field athletics as a schoolboy and participated in his first major tournament in 1958 when he ran in that year’s East African championship.
It was here that he was spotted by scouts from the Kenyan Army and brought into military service, where he eventually rose to the rank of sergeant.
His main job, however, was to train for middle-distance track events, and he made his intercontinental tournament debut at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
He retired from active competition in 1969 and remained with the army as a fitness instructor until 1974. He later ran a farm near his home town of Kericho.
He died at his Kericho home on November 3, 2022, after a long illness.
