Kericho Green Stadium has been renamed in honor of Kenyan Olympic medalist Kiprugut.
Wilson Kiprugut Chumo is regarded as the first Kenyan to win an Olympic medal, his bronze medal performance in the 800m final at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics forever etched in history.
In 1968, he returned to the Olympics in Mexico, where he won a silver medal.
After a long illness, the renowned Kenyan sprints and middle-distance legend died on Tuesday evening. On Tuesday, the 90-year-old athlete collapsed at his Kipchebor home near Kericho town and died at Siloam Hospital.
Gideon Kipngeno, Kiprugut’s last born son, said his widowed father died of cardiac arrest.
Kipngeno referred to his father as a hero, saying the old man demonstrated his athleticism even in the face of death, dying ‘while smiling.’
Kipngeno also praised his late father as a generous man to whom area residents frequently came to ask for financial or material favors.
“He never drove anyone away.” “He always made sure that every visitor to our homestead stayed for a cup of tea, a meal, or even a night,” Kipngeno explained.
The Kericho County Government, in the previous regime through its Governor, Paul Chepkwony, honored the athletics icon by renaming the Kericho Green Stadium the Wilson Kiprugut Chumo Stadium on August 11, 2021.
