15th May 2011, Kenya awoke to the sad news that the Country’s brightest star in athletics, Samuel Wanjiru had passed on at the age of 24. The late Samuel Kamau Wanjiru had fallen from his balcony at his Nyahururu home and succumbed to head injuries.
He was the Olympic Champion in the Men’s marathon after winning gold in Beijing back in 2008 with a new Olympic record. Wanjiru, 22, crossed the finishing line in two hours six minutes and 32 seconds to become the first Kenyan to win marathon gold and just a year after suffering a bout of malaria.
For three years, Samuel Kamau Wanjiru was Kenya’s highest-paid sportsman. In a good month, with his appearance fee of $200,000 or about Sh16 million, an amount only matched by the Jamaican Usain Bolt, his pay was way above that of chief executives of listed companies.
On February 29, 2008, when he was only 24 he received $300,000 (about Sh24m) from Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Hahyan of the United Arab Emirates after winning the Zayed International Half Marathon. He had to look for a plastic bag to carry the banknotes, as the prize was paid in cash.
In two years, his takings from two marathon majors were $1 million (Sh80m). Conservative estimates put the amount of money he received between 2007 and 2010 at $6 million (Sh500m).
The fame and money would eventually get to his head and the young man failed to manage his wealth. Once, while in a drunken stupor, he drove his car through the crowded market in Nyahururu, sending vendors and customers scampering for safety.
For all his faults though, his death robbed Kenya on a talented athlete who’s early career achievements pointed to an icon in the making. May he rest in eternal peace.