Athletics fraternity and Nandi County Governor Stephen Sang paid tribute to the late Sammy Kiplimo Kosgei who died in an accident along the Lessos-Kapsabet road in Nandi County
The athlete who hails from Kamonjil village in Kapsabet was hit by a speeding vehicle on Friday evening at Emaki trading center and died on the spot.
Governor Sang took to the social media to express his shock and sadness following the demise of Kosgei, an occurrence he said was untimely and the loss immeasurable.
“Kosgei was an exceptionally talented marathoner whose career was marked by remarkable achievements. Death has robbed us a humble and hardworking athlete whose career was just taking shape,” he mourned.
Athletics Kenya (AK) the governing body for athletics in Kenya also took to the social media to mourn the death of the renowned athlete. In a message shared on twitter, AK expressed its desire to join Kenyans and the entire sports fraternity in mourning the passing away of Kosgei.
Nandi County Athletes have been meeting at Stanley Biwott athletes’ camp in Namgoi to deliberate on how they are going to give the deceased a decent send-off.
The athletes described the late as a hard worker who proved to be a serious competitor in the field.
Shadrack Maru, the chairman of the Nandi County athletes’ committee and a former athlete recalled fondly how he met Kosgei for the first time in Germany and how they grew from being acquaintances to friends.
“The news of Kosgei’s death hit me hard as we had spoken just a week ago. It is a huge blow to our fraternity as athletes,” said Maru.
The meeting held by the athletes was geared towards raising some money to support the family apart from giving the late a decent send-off.
Mr. Maru was however quick to point out that the raising of money did not necessarily mean that the deceased was poor. It merely signified their unity as athletes as that has always been their tradition.
Apart from clocking 1:11:50 to break the 25Km record in 2010 during the BIG Berlin race where Mary Keitany also made a name for herself by breaking a record in the 25Km race in the women’s category, the late Kosgei also won the 2015 Kosice Peace Marathon.
The late died at the age of 37 years while still active in athletics.
By Laban Kiplimo
