Anja Prieler-Kemboi, the wife of former Austrian and Kenyan athlete, Edwin Kipchirchir Kemboi, has revealed how his brother In-law, Philimon Kipchumba, almost lost his life eight years ago.
Kipchumba not only won but also smashed the race course record at the 36th edition of the Generali Munich Marathon held on Sunday, October 9, in Germany.
According to Prieler-Kemboi, a co-founder of Das Malaika Projekt in Kenya noted that the 23-year-old Munich Marathon winner escaped death when he was found unconscious in a forest.
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“Eight years ago, we got a phone call that Philimon got lost. People saw him walking and behaving, disoriented and somehow dizzy. We immediately searched for him, as two hundred other people did from our village.
“After hours of search, someone found him miles away, very inside the forest. He had collapsed and lay on the ground,” Prieler-Kemboi noted in her Facebook post.
The athlete had lost a lot of blood during a traditional ceremony and his wounds had not healed.
Kipchumba was rushed to a hospital as he was unable to eat, drink or even talk.
She added that at the said hospital in Iten, there were no doctors available, and the nurses asked them to be patient.
The Munich Marathon gold medalist was only given glucose and iron syrups. And after two days of no improvement, they drove to the next big city in search of better treatment.
Kipchumba was immediately infused with blood to save his life. The sister-in-law noted that the family would have lost him had they delayed for a day.
The couple took care of Kipchumba, from his well-being to education as well as horning his skills after he completed school.
Three years later, in 2022, Kipchumba won the Generali Munich Marathon, becoming the fasted debutant ever.
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