Why ‘Riggy G’ regrets not taking athletics seriously

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has expressed his regret at not taking up running seriously having seen how athletics has become a lucrative career lately.

Gachagua feels he let his talent go to waste due to a lack of knowledge, having participated in short races while still a young boy.

The Nyeri native joined President William Ruto, alongside other government and Athletics Kenya officials, in welcoming and rewarding double world record holder Faith Kipyegon and Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala for their recent exploits in the Diamond League and said coming from Central Kenya may have contributed to his lack of interest.

“Unfortunately for people from the region where I come from, we did not know until the other day that this athletics business has a lot of money in it,” Gachagua said amid laughter at Statehouse Nairobi.

“Had I known this, I would have been the fastest man in the world so that I can also get the earning that goes with it.”

Gachagua may perhaps have been a victim of time given by the time he was born in 1965, athletics was not yet a well-paying sport as it is now.

However, over time, Central Kenya has produced a number of world beaters who have earned mega bucks from athletics.

Four-time Boston Marathon champion Catherine Ndereba and former Olympic and two-time Chicago Marathon champion the late Samuel Wanjiru are some of the runners from the region who reaped big from running.

The 1988 Seoul Olympics 5,000m champion John Ngugi and the 2016 Rio Olympics 800m bronze medallist Margaret Nyairera are some of the other famous world beaters from the region.

Like Gachagua, Ndereba and Nyairera hail from Nyeri. Rift Valley is the cradle of Kenyan athletics with majority of the top runners hailing from the region.