Adios: Legend Nyatome calls time at AK

After over five decades of dedication to one of Kenya’s top sports,  Francis Nyatome has decided to call time on his career at Athletics Kenya.

The soft-spoken former East African Airways engineer intends to take the break in June bringing to an end years of selfless service that saw him serve in various dockets at the federation.

As expected, Nyatome finds it difficult to say goodbye to a place he has known as his second home.

“It has been an honour to serve the sport I love most. I have travelled to many countries in different capacities.

My most memorable one was the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester where I was the Team Manager.

We swept gold medals from 400m to the marathon. It was a bigger medal haul than that from Kuala Lumpur in 1998 where I was also part of the team. The Manchester Games also coincided with the Queen’s 50th anniversary,” Nyatome recalls.

Born in Nyaribari Chache,  Kisii County, Nyatome is the first born son to Nehemiah and Batsheba Nyatome.

Growing up in a family of 12, he started initially as a footballer who played as a forward for local football clubs together with his eight brothers. He recalls how his family was the envy of many.

“We could make up an entire football team as a family and that is how good we were. So we could play for Nyiribari Constituency and win trophies and individual awards.

It got to a point where people were not happy that one family can dominate local tournaments. 

That is how we moved to the neighbouring constituency and started playing for former MP Chris Obure, because he had no issue with children from one family making almost the entire team. 

This would create a big rivalry with our home team Nyaribari whom we often met at the finals,” he revealed.

 With his home barely two kilometres from that of former powerful Cabinet minister the late Simeon Nyachae, Nyatome recalls how he quickly became a darling of not only the locals but also the region’s top leadership.

“Chief Nyandusi (Nyachae’s father) was my biggest fan and mentor when I was a budding athlete.

I was a  top sprinter in 400m, so more often he used to follow up on my progress to find out if I was in the team or not, he loved my running style so he always made sure I was in the team,” says Nyatome.

Tough call

Nyatome would thereafter secure a scholarship to study in India early in the 1960s and that signaled the end of his brief but illustrious career in sports. In India, he studied plant engineering for four years and upon his return in 1966, he secured a job at the East African Airways (now Kenya Airways)  where he would serve for close to three decades.

“India was and is still big on hockey and cricket, so I had to take a back seat and focus on my studies, by the time I came back, I had lost a lot of time.

So catching up was going to be a tough call. Since I loved athletics, I decided to take more interest in officiating,” states the father of six, four boys and two girls.

It was at KQ that he got to work mostly with government institutions like the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), more so at the Moi Airbase where he used to perform routine maintenance to their aircrafts.

“I made life friends at Moi Airbase, young guys I used to train, very competent people, some have risen to top most positions in the country, some have retired, moments I cherish very much,” he said.

His in-depth knowledge of statistics of all leading athletes in the country from different eras has led to many in the athletics circles calling him the “professor” or “mzee kijana”, terms he accepts with humility.

“We cannot be here forever that is for certain, but when we finally depart, it will be important to do a personal assessment of what you want to  be remembered for. 

I am not bragging but I know over 90 percent of the officials we have today have passed through my hands,” he said.

Nyatome also mastered the art of starting a race, and became the go-to guy for training.

Takes pride

He takes pride having mentored all the six professional starters in the country; Samson Katam (Police), Thomas Ogwacho (Nyanza North), Elkanah Nyang’au (Moi Air Base), Amutala Ali (Western) and  now deceased Francis Kathenge (Eastern).

“We focus so much on athletes and rightfully so, but we shouldn’t overlook the role of  a starter.

For sprints, for example, a  starter can cost an athlete millions of shillings if he or she delays is too slow in signalling the start of a race. A wrong move and that is it, you’ve lost.

Basically, it’s good to be in sync with the athlete,” he averred. The man who will be turning 85-years-old soon developed an interest  in starting while at Kagumo Teachers Training College.

Nyatome, who also doubles up as a part-time librarian at AK, is quick to point out the role played by British brothers Eddie Evans and Archie Evans, who were independent Kenya’s first-ever sports officers in encouraging him to venture into the role of a starter.

 “The role of a starter keeps evolving each day, when I started in the seventies, we used to use whistles and hooters (horn) but now we exclusively use guns.

Those are serious strides,” revealed Nyatome who has served under Charles Mukora, Sam Ongeri, Paul Boit, Isaiah Kiplagat and now Jackson Tuwei at the Aerodrome road-based office.

He can’t recall the number of times he fired the gun to signal the start of races; there have been wins, regrets and most importantly learning moments.

He has been a regular fixture in all AK meetings, moreover he has started local marathons like Ndakaini Half Marathon, Lewa Marathon, Standard Chartered Marathon, among many more.

He takes pride in the sense that advancement in technology will make the role of officials and specifically starters easier.