Douglas Wakiihuri

Background

Douglas Wakiihuri was born on 26 September 1963 in Mombasa, a coastal city in Kenya. Olympedia gives his full name as Douglas Wakiihuri Maina, while he is publicly known as Douglas Wakiihuri.

Mombasa had been a trading harbour for centuries, and its Kilindini Harbour is the only international seaport in Kenya. The city became part of an independent Kenya in 1963, the same year Wakiihuri was born.

He was schooled in Nairobi, the capital, before his athletic career took him abroad.

Career

Wakiihuri left Kenya for Japan in 1983 at the age of nineteen and spent six years training under a coach identified as Mr Nakamura. Wikidata lists his coaches as Kiyoshi Nakamura and Toshihiko Seko and records English and Japanese among his languages. Wikidata also names S&B Foods as his employer. S&B traces its origins to the Higashiya store, established in 1923 in Asakusa, Tokyo, where founder Minejiro Yamazaki produced Japan's first homegrown curry powder. The company, which later became known for spices, condiments and tube wasabi, was formally founded in 1940.

His international marathon career included a sixth-place finish at the 1986 Lake Biwa Marathon and victory at the 1987 World Championships in Rome, where he won in 2:11:48. In 1988 he finished second in the Olympic marathon in Seoul, behind Gelindo Bordin, and he placed seventh at the Tokyo Marathon that year. He won the 1989 London Marathon, the ninth running of that race, in 2:09:03. In 1990 he won the Commonwealth Games marathon in Auckland, New Zealand, and the New York City Marathon, the 21st running of that race, in 2:12:39. He finished sixth at the 1991 Boston Marathon and 36th in the 1992 Olympic marathon in Barcelona. In 1995 he won the World Marathon Cup in Athens.

Beyond competition, he moved into mentorship and coaching, and he guided former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta to complete a marathon. He is also reported to run a marathon fitness centre and training school. Wakiihuri later worked as a musician, music producer and events organiser. He is the founding director of Nairobi Sotokoto Safari Half Marathon Limited. Japan supplied most of the funding for the Sotokoto marathon, and during its first edition he sponsored 60 boys and girls to take part in the 4 km race.

Wakiihuri also works with disadvantaged children in Kibera, one of the largest urban slums in Africa. He has trained and mentored young people there, set up the Kibera running club, and established a nursery and primary school that offers children opportunities to meet other communities through sport.

Achievements

• Won the marathon gold medal at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome, Kenya's first marathon gold at that championship. Until 2007, no other male Kenyan runner had won the marathon at a World Championships or Olympic Games, when Luke Kibet became a world champion.

• Won the silver medal in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, finishing behind Gelindo Bordin.

• Won the 1989 London Marathon in 2:09:03.

• Won the 1990 New York City Marathon in 2:12:39.

• Won the marathon at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand.

• Won the 1995 World Marathon Cup in Athens, Greece.

Membership

Wakiihuri is a board member of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya, a statutory body established under the Anti-Doping Act, 2016. The agency carries out anti-doping education, doping tests of Kenyan athletes, and investigations into anti-doping rule violations. Kenya's government created it to protect the country from exclusion from the 2016 Rio Olympics. He also serves on the board of Special Olympics Kenya, the national programme of the Special Olympics movement, which provides sports training and competition for people with intellectual disabilities.

• Board member

  Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya , Kenya

• Board member

  Special Olympics Kenya , Kenya

Personality

Physical Characteristics: Olympedia lists his height as 186 centimetres and his weight as 65 kilograms. He was known for wearing a white glove on his right hand during races.

Quotes from others about the person

• Kenya's President William Ruto paid tribute to Wakiihuri as a legendary Kenyan marathoner and the first Kenyan athlete to train and work in Japan, saying that his example had inspired hundreds of other athletes.

References

• Wikipedia Encyclopedia article summarising his birth in Mombasa, his marathon results and his later activities in Kenya.
• Olympedia Olympic biographical profile recording his birth date and place, measurements, full name and results at the 1988 and 1992 Games.
• Wikidata Structured record listing his birth date and place, sport, coaches, languages and employer.
• World Athletics Athlete profile recording his birth date and major championship titles.
• The Kenya Times Profile describing his marathon career, his work in Japan and his later role as founding director of the Sotokoto half marathon.