*Undated
For a while, Kenyans always had the belief that long instance runners were highly bred and embraced as Rift-Valley residents/local talent and most certainly not Western Kenya.
The Western side of the country has for so long been the bedrock of rugby and football athletes who have indeed marked their own places in the International scene, however that thought is slowly becoming a thing of the past as long distance athlete Victor Shitsama has truly broken the myth.
During his final year in high school, Victor Shitsama didn't know what he would do after completing form 4. He had no idea if he would make it out of western Kenya, where he grew up.
Shitsama was inspired when his parents told him about a relative in Iten, Kenya, who could help him train for his goal to run cross country in the United States. After moving in with his uncle in Iten, he began training with the goal of getting recruited to run in the U.S. Now, four years later, he's running for Oklahoma State.
"When I finished my high school, I moved right away to Iten to start my official training," Shitsama said. "In 2016, (OSU) had an assistant coach, Bobby Lockhart, who came to Kenya bringing the under-20 athletes to a championship in Nairobi."
"He saw me and told me that he saw how I was running and that I was running well, and if I ran a certain time he would give me a chance at OSU. So, that was the biggest thing that motivated me, I put all my money into training and training hard."
After hearing those motivating words from Lockhart, Shitsama set out to achieve his goal of attending Oklahoma State.
In 2018, two years after meeting with Lockhart, he started the application process to join OSU. "I feel it's a privilege for me being here in the U.S.," Shitsama said. "Because I don't think I would have gone to college without it, without getting this scholarship."
Shitsama moved to Stillwater in 2018 and hasn't looked back, earning All-Big 12 Honours in his first indoor season with the Cowboys in 2019.
In the 2020 cross-country season, Shitsama was named the Big 12 Cross Country Newcomer of the Year while also getting a new personal best in the Big 12 Championship.
Now, with two years under his belt, Shitsama is heading into his senior year after earning All-America honours in his junior year and leading the Cowboys to a third-place team finish in the NCAA Cross Country National Championships.
Shitsama has already hit a personal-best since 2021, running 13:53.45 in the 5k this spring.