07/11/2019
Many people worldwide have always wondered what makes kenyan Athletes so special. Why are Kenyan athletes among the top of the table internationally? Some said its the milk they drink, others said its innate talent. After long Speculation, experts finally found an answer... It was where they trained. The secret was in the heart of the RiftValley which had the best conditions for training long distance runners, therefore giving them an edge over the rest...ITEN
This story goes this way...
Many years ago, an Irish Patrician Brother, Colm O'Connel, who was the principal of the local St. Patricks High School, noticed that many of his students had a talent for running. At first he thought it was just genetics, but the coincidence was too much and kept repeating. Acting on instinct, he organized running camps for his students to see how they performed. Initially, his intention was to improve his students' athleticism. This proved very successful and the student athletes' performance improved. Therefore, he decided to arrange running camps, both for his own student-runners and for talented runners from the rest of the country. It seemed to work. The athletes at iten produced better results when they returned to compete in their various races.Later, following the success, the school decided to plant a tree for everyone of it's students that had success at an international level. Winthin a few years the school compound was full of trees. No other highschool in the world has raised and educated so many international top athletes.
Iten (Kenya) is a small town in the highlands of Kenya. It's situated in the Rift Valley province, at approximately 35km (22 miles) from the city of Eldoret. Iten lays at an altitude of 2400 meter (7900 feet) and is famous for being the centre of Kenyan middle- and long distance running. Its called THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS
The video is of Kipchoge Keino putting Kenya on the world stage in 1968 Olympic