Kenyan athletes have always been the pride of the country. They are celebrated all over the world putting Kenya at the limelight and the best thing is that they never disappoint.
However, some of these athletes shine for some years only to disappear afterward without a word. Today we take a look at some of the most celebrated athletes in Kenya who have since gone missing.
Pamela Jelimo
This is no doubt a household name not only in Kenya but also internationally. The award-winning Jelimo who specialized in 800m rose from a humble village girl to earning the title "Kenya's million dollar girl" in 2008. In 2008, Jelimo broke the record and became the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gold in Beijing at only 18 years. She would also be the first to win the golden league jackpot worth one million dollars.
In 2012, Jelimo divorced her husband Peter Murrey with allegations of infidelity adding that there never married as he never proposed. She has since gone silent and said that she prefers to lead a private life. Early this year, however, her ex-husband revealed that Jelimo mistreated him and went ahead to put all their wealth in her name without his knowledge. Murrey also accused Jelimo of not wanting to bear children and has since remarried someone else with whom they have a kid.
Janeth Jepkosgei
Janeth is yet another 800m champion who dominated in her days before being taken over by Pamela Jelimo. Popularly referred to as "Eldoret Express", Janet got her breakthrough in athletics in 2006 after winning Women's 800m at Commonwealth Games and African Championships later in the same year. It was her win in 2007 at the World Championships that made history after she became the first Kenyan woman to win gold in 800m.
Since the rise of Pamela Jelimo, Janeth has not been as active as before and now runs the Jeneth Jepkosgei Training Camp in Kapsabet which nurtures upcoming athletes.
Abel Kirui
Abel won the World Championships marathon consecutively in 2009 in Berlin and 2011 at Daegu making Kenya proud. The marathon champion has also won other awards and is also a reigning Chicago Marathon Winner. Although Kirui has not broken any records recently, he is still struggling to defend his position in marathon. Last year, Kirui came fourth in the prestigious London Marathon and he took the same position in the 2018 London marathon.
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