Douglas Wakiihuri is a former Kenyan long-distance runner, who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome. No other male Kenyan runner had ever won the marathon at World Championships or Olympic Games until 2007, when Luke Kibet became a world champion.
Olympian Douglas Wakiihuri presently works with the disadvantaged people of Kenya, training and mentoring children from the Kibera neighborhood in Nairobi. This is one of the largest urban slums in all of Africa.
He has set up the Kibera Running Club along with a kindergarten & primary school aiming to offer these children, a better start at life by creating opportunities for them to blend with other communities and have new experiences.
In his words, 'the slum mentality is very difficult to overcome. But when they are given opportunities in a different environment using sport as a common ground and offered a better education system, they can become more integrated and see much more of the world rather than just the area they were born & raised in.'
He hopes to see more children taking up sport, not only due to their specific talent but also by parents realizing the benefits of sports and an active lifestyle.
