RUNNING WITH PASSION

21km Winners -(L-R): Chua, Henry Wanyoike (Champion) and Joseph Kibunja (Runner-up) We were all beaten by a BLIND man in the 21 km category! Isn't it shocking? Henry Wanyoike beat all 4020 other seeing mortals to emerge champion, guided only by a tether connected to his guide, Joseph Kibunja (which happened to win the second prize..He can't be too far behind, can he? Hahah!). His Chip time - 1 Hr 16 Min 04 seconds. I first saw this couple in action at the Standard Chartered Run in Bangkok in October this year. Henry Wanyoike is the goodwill ambassador for "Seeing Is Believing" Charity Campaign aims to restore millions of eyesights of the poor. I approached Henry and Joseph for a photograph and they willingly obliged. Henry said they would come for a run in Malaysia if Standard Chartered Malaysia invites them here. So, those people in Standard Chartered Malaysia please do something! When are we going to have a Standard Chartered Run in Malaysia? Henry lost his eyesight after a mild stroke in 1995 when he was 19 years old but that did not stop him from running. Henry and Joseph Kibunja, his running partner, won the gold medal in the 5,000 meters for the visually-impaired at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, making history as the first African ever to win an Olympic gold medal in that category. He then won gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m Athens Paralympic Games 2004. His time of 2:33:20 for the marathon still stands as the world record for blind runners and envies of many seeing runners. SEEING IS BELIEVING!