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Political Strife in Kenya Claims Runners’ Lives
Rioting following the disputed Kenyan elections has taken its toll on the Kenyan running community. On New Years Eve, Lucas Sang, a member of the Kenyan 4x400m relay team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, was the first victim of the election violence. Less than three weeks later, marathoner Wesley Ngetich was struck and killed by a poisoned arrow in Western Kenya’s Transmara region, near the world famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve.
Ngetich, winner of the 2005 and 2007 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, had a personal best time of 2:12:10, set in finishing 2 nd at the Houston Marathon in 2006. Sympathies to Ngetich’s family have been sent from around the world. The post-election violence has forced many Kenyan runners to withdraw from International races, including 13 not competing in mid-January’s Arizona Rock’n’Roll Marathon in Phoenix.
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