- John Ngugi
John Ngugi Kamau (born
May 10 ,1962 inNyahururu , Laikipia) [John Ngugi, Athletics-heroes.net, http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=6001] is a formerKenya n athlete, winner of5000 metres at the1988 Summer Olympics .Born in
Nyahururu, Kenya , John Ngugi's earliest international successes came at the World Cross Country Championships, where he won a record four consecutive titles between 1986 and 1989 and five titles overall.Ngugi established himself as a track runner when he won his heat of the 5000 m at the 1987 World Championships in
Rome . In the final, Ngugi took the lead during the secondkilometre , but despite his front running tactics, he was outsprinted in the finish, finishing in a disappointing twelfth place. He won 5000 metres race in the 1987 All-Africa Games held in Kenya.At the
Seoul Olympic Games , Ngugi took the lead after the kilometre and achieved a 50 m lead. Although his lead was reduced when the expected sprints came in the last lap, Ngugi still managed to win by 30 metres.At the 1990
Commonwealth Games inAuckland, New Zealand , Ngugi tried exactly the same tactics which had won him the Olympic gold medal. Although he tripped and fell after only two laps and lost 35 m on the rest of the field, he managed to catch the leading group and establish a gap of 40 m at the bell. But in this time, that wasn't enough, asAndrew Lloyd fromAustralia won by a mere 0.08second s in an incredible finishing burst.Ngugi returned in 1992 to capture the World Cross Country title for the fifth time.
That was Ngugi's final appearance at a major international championships before his retirement. In 1993 Ngugi refused to take an out-of-competition drug test [http://www.eastandard.net/archives/sunday/hm_news/news.php?articleid=25962, The country watched as I was being destroyed, claims Ngugi, The East African Standard] , and initially received a four-year suspension later reduced to two years due to 'extraordinary circumstances'. This effectively ended his career.
References
*iaaf name|id=2046
External links
* [http://www2.iaaf.org/WXC98/History/legends.asp#JOHN%20NGUGI Legends of the cross]
*cite news |first=Omulo |last=Okoth |title=A Kenyan XC legend - John Ngugi |url=http://www.iaaf.org/WXC07/news/Kind=2/newsId=37962.html |work=IAAF |date=15 March 2007 |accessdate=2007-03-17
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