Ben Jipcho, a Runner Who Sacrificed Himself for a Teammate, Dies at 77

“He felt he owed me an apology for what happened in Mexico City,” Ryun told The A.P. in 1989. “I said, ‘You didn’t have to say that.’ But he felt he had to do it. I think if he had given it a second thought, he might not have done it. But the pressures during international competition are enormous.”

At the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, Jipcho began to shed his reputation as a supporting player. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, he won the silver medal. Keino won the gold.

Over the next few years, Jipcho would become one of the world’s top distance runners.

Benjamin Wabura Jipcho was born on March 1, 1943, in the Mount Elgon district of western Kenya. He grew up in the village of Kapkateny, where his father was a farmer. He did not start running until high school, when he was encouraged by a British-born coach.

Jipcho — who supported himself as a teacher in a prison while he was running — did not reach his athletic peak until after the 1972 Olympics. In early 1973, he won gold medals at the All-Africa Games in Nigeria in the 5,000 meters and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

And, in a two-week stretch that summer, he twice broke the world record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Helsinki and ran the second-fastest mile, 3:52.0, in Stockholm. Ryun held the record at 3:51.1.

“Jipcho has emerged this summer as his sport’s most versatile and impressive runner” and the successor to Keino, Sports Illustrated wrote in July 1973.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/sports/olympics/ben-jipcho-dead.html