Last month, an athletics legend breathed his last. The rise of Nyantika Maiyoro to stardom in international competitions before and soon after independence has been told and retold and will continue to be told.

Maiyoro was born 88 years ago in Kisii and has been a reference case for many generations.

This is so because he beat all odds in the second half of the 1950s to get medals for Kenya.

In 1952, he won the Empire games in Madagascar despite starting the race late because he did not understand instructions. Sports writers, commentators and enthusiasts love this story.

Apparently, Maiyoro ran barefoot and although his competitors had gone over 100 metres ahead of him, he beat them all, to the bemusement and disbelief of the world.

He went ahead to stun the British crowd in 1954 at the Athletics Amateur Association championship as an African distance runner.

But his demise has opened a lid that has sealed pages of legends that the country and county governments have neglected as they die in their glory.

The legend, a former veterinary scout having been identified by the colonial officers, later became a caretaker at Kisii Municipal stadium from where he retired in 2002.

He was given a house at the stadium decades back but greedy individuals are said to have complicated the ownership to his disadvantage.

From his hospital bed and in a frail voice, Maiyoro who could not afford proper healthcare complained that his land in Borabu settlement scheme was under threat from someone who was interfering with its boundaries.

Maiyoro was a true Kenyan, a dedicated patriot who beat all odds to win trophies for the country when athletics was not a plum sport as it is now.

It is unfortunate that Maiyoro tarmacked for years to retain his recognition. Maiyoro inspired many upcoming athletes but there would be little to show for as an appreciation for his good works. Maiyoro will not race again but he rests assured that the fast pace of his footprints remain printed in Kenya’s history.

Tribute by The Scholar newspaper.