The World Masters Athletics Championships, now in its 25th edition, began yesterday at the Slottsskogsvallen Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden, and will run until August 25.

This is Kenya’s fourth appearance in the competition, which was founded in 1975.

For 80-year-old Joel Kimisik Kirui, it is a dream come true in his old age as he finally gets the chance to represent Kenya in athletics at the 2024 World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Indeed, it is never too late to dream again.

Kirui, an ex-KDF soldier from Aldai, Kapsabet, recounts how his desire to represent Kenya in the 1972 World Athletics Championships was thwarted after failing to qualify in the local trials for the men’s 3000m steeplechase.

It was then that he got a job with the Kenya Defense Forces, based in Lanet.’

“In 1972 we had national trials. The Kenyan team was being selected for competition in Munich. Disappointingly, I was not successful in the trials. I continued with my KDF job in Lanet until I retired in 1976”

An elated Kirui asserts that he has embraced training as a lifestyle for healthy living and calls on everyone to engage in physical exercises regularly.

He observed: “When I retired in 1976, I continued with daily training routines. I woke up early and did morning runs and sometimes evening jogging. Some people and even kids make fun of me and wonder why I exercise in my old age. However, I normally tell them that physical training has many benefits for a healthy lifestyle. Personally, I do not feel any pain or sickness because of the routine running. Many people my age would find it difficult to adapt to this, but for me, it is just a lifestyle I have chosen, and it has brought me to Europe for the first time. I am so grateful.”

This coming Friday, he will begin his pursuit of gold medals in the men’s 800m and 1500m for the M80 category, which includes athletes aged between 80 and 84 years old.

His utmost desire is to break the age barrier and bring home glory with medals around his neck.
“I am here to prove that everything is possible, even in old age. My mission is to represent Kenya well and return home with gold medals.”