Simon Feels Encouraged By His Humanitarian Aftermath
Kenyan long distance runner, Simon Cheprot has said that he is overwhelmed by the appreciation he received after he abandoned his own race to help his colleague, Kipronot Kipkemoi.
Kipkemoi was aiming to claim the 4th spot when he fell down and rolled severally a few seconds to the finish line.
Two athletes passed him by as he struggled to get up to finish the race.
But Simon who was running 7th carried his mate from behind and helped him to cross the line.
Simon who won the race in 2016 said he was not expecting the outcome as he was just trying to carry out his father’s instruction.
“My dad told me one day that when you are working and you meet somebody sick on the road, help him do not leave him, that is what came to my mind. Secondly to see my colleague falling and dies, tomorrow I will die too and God might punish me for not assisting my colleague when he fell. This is why I decided to lift him to cross the finish line.”
The 2016 IAAF gold medalist at Cardiff half Marathon in the United Kingdom who went home with 10,000 Dollars for his humanitarian effort said he was elated by the monetary reward he got after the incident.
“up till now it is unbelievable to me, I believe I was doing something normal, but at the end it was a big deal, I want to thank the host and the spectators. Running is not war, running means peace, unity and friendliness that is the basic thing.
He further said he will keep on spreading the message of being a brother’s keeper.
“I am going home to tell my family, let us have good hearts. When you see somebody in need of help, pls render it. This message i will pass to my colleagues when i get back to Kenya and even here in Nigeria. Whatever you do, think of your brother, don’t leave him to die as you see.
Simon who was hoping to reclaim the title he won in 2016 explained that fatigue denied him the opportunity of winning the 13,000 dollars prize money.
“I came here to win but on the road, my stomach started aching me so I decided to drop and go on my own pace”.
Meanwhile, Kipronot said he is grateful for Simon’s at large as he advised others to emulate him.
“Simon is a good Man, he is a caring type. I am surprised because not all athletes will help you, but that guy has a heart to help. I am grateful and happy, though my body was weak but I did not lose my memory.
He also talked on what led to his fall.” When I was in 7.5km, we were a group of five guys, when I reached 9km, I was struggling to fight with those guys, but eventually when I almost reached 10km, and I fell. I was fighting to continue because I know I was within the winning positions, I was in position 6, three guys overtook me, so I know I was in position 8, so I was trying to reach the line because I was seeing the line but am not able to go. I was not strong, eventually Simon came and helped me to cross.