Stanley Waithaka Mburu became a household name after his heroic display in the 10,000m final on Sunday July 17 at the 2022 World Athletics Championships staged in Oregon, United States.
The 22-year-old fell and picked up an injury at the start of the race, but never gave up. He endured the pain and went on to win Kenya a silver medal in a race that had big names like Ethiopia's Olympic champion Selemon Barega and Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo.
Mburu clocked 27:27:90, narrowly losing to the reigning world record holder Joshua Cheptegei who finished the race in 27:27.43.
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Many Kenyans including former Harambee Stars striker Boniface Ambani took to social media to heap praise on the young man from Pondo village.
"This young man needs to be mentored by the likes of Kipchoge, Kemboi, and the rest,to stay on his feet.The next few years to come, he will be a force to reckon with,"
"Only experience cost him,from running away with that Gold Medal. Congratulations 👏👍🎉🎁🎉🎁 Silver boy. Thanks for stopping Uganda's 1-2 party," stated Ambani.
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Very few Kenyans knew who Stanley Waithaka Mburu was until his recent brilliant performance. Below is a brief profile of an athlete with a promising future.
Profile of Stanley Waithaka Mburu
Waithaka was born in Ndaragwa, Nyandarua County on April 9, 2000. He broke into the limelight during the 2017 Under 18 World Championships when he clinched a 3,000m bronze medal behind Barega and compatriot Edward Zakayo.
At the 2018 Under 20 World Championships, Mburu won a silver medal for Kenya when he finished behind Zakayo.
Waithaka then moved to Japan where he continues to train and study. He is a member of Japan's Yakult corporate team.
In November 2018, Mburu ran the fastest 10,000m race of the year when he crossed the finishing line in 27:13.01 at the Yokohama Nittai University Time trials.
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