Meet the first African woman World Cross gold medallist

The iconic Hellen Chepngeno’s name is forever etched in history books for being the first African woman to win the World Cross Country Championships title in Budapest, Hungary in 1994.

The retired runner, however, was forced to quit athletics early due to persistent injury. But she still serves as a Kenya Prisons officer in charge of security at the Kericho Main Prisons.

Nation Sport caught up with Chepngeno at her house and she was happy to know that we wanted to know how she is doing after retiring from sports. The former athlete said she loved sports but had to leave before time owing to injury.

As we settle down for the interview, Chepngeno tells us that she really enjoyed talking about athletics because the sport enabled her to travel all over the world. She reveals that presently her work as a prisons officer is demanding and sometimes she is unable to attend local athletics competitions.

“Last year, I missed the World Cross Country Championships trials in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County because of my job. It’s really demanding but we have to work,” Chepngeno said.

She was born in 1967 at Kitapen in Bomet Central, Bomet County in a family of 10 children. Chepngeno went to Kitapen Primary School where she graduated in 1987. Because of her love for athletics, she was able to take part in the All Africa Games held at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi.

Chepngeno participated in the 3,000 meters race in which she finished fifth after competing bare feet. Kenya Prisons Service officials noticed her talent and recruited her to the force.

Chepngeno’s began running at an early age when she was in Standard Three. She used to run home from school for lunch. She would also run whenever she was sent to the shops.

“I wanted to surprise my parents. When they used to send me to the shops, I ran very fast and returned quickly. Little did I know that I was training and that one day I would become a star,” Chepngeno said.

In 1990 during her first outing, Chepngeno competed with the likes of Esther Kiplagat, Tegla Loroupe, Susan Sirma, Jane Ngotho among others and she emerged third. However, she was dropped from the World Cross Country Championships team in what athletics officials said was due to lack of experience.

In 1992, Chepngeno she was part of the team selected for the World Cross Country Championships held in Boston, USA. She finished in position 45 but she didn’t give up.

“It was tough for me because it was my first race to compete using spikes. I managed position 45. I was not discouraged, I continued training hard with my eyes focused on the next season,” the athlete said.

In 1993, Chepngeno finished second at the National trials for the World Cross Country Championships and was selected to represent the country. She was also picked to represent Kenya in the World Relay championship in China where they bagged gold.

Upon returning home, Chepngeno headed to the residential training camp for the cross country team in Kigari, Embu but to her surprise, she was again dropped after the officials failed to process her ticket.

Chepngeno later went abroad and participated in various races. She competed against some others who were part of the cross country team and she beat all of them. She then returned home and continued training.

She participated in the National trials for the World Cross Country Championships in 1994 and emerged the winner. The athlete got an automatic ticket to the World Cross Country Championships that was held in Budapest, Hungary.

“We went for residential camp in Embu and I trained hard. I trained with the men’s team since my goal was to win a global event,” Chepngeno said.

In Hungary, Chepngeno beat a competitive field and became the first African woman to bag gold in the senior category.

Chepngeno clocked 20:45 in the 6.22 kilometres race, beating Ireland’s Catherina McKiernan who timed 20:52, while Conceicao Ferreira from Portugal, who clocked 20:52 was third.

Chepngeno was later ruled out of major competitions due to an injury she picked on her knee. However, she remained an active athlete and she competed in a number of road races until 2002 when she retired from sports.

She is grateful to the Kenya Prisons Service for rewarding her with promotion to the position a superintendent.

“I received a certificate for my good performance in athletics, but I’m happy with my employer because they rewarded me with a promotion,” the mother of two boys, Gideon Cheruiyot and Tonny Kipkoech Langat, said.

Chepngeno is also happy to have identified another legendary runner - Catherine Ndereba during one of the races she was competing in.

“One thing I will always be proud of is the fact that I was able to identify Catherine Ndereba, who is also my boss. It was during one of the local races where I told my coach that the athlete looked promising. Ndereba went on and conquered the world. I’m happy to date,” Chepngeno said.