NAIROBI, Kenya, October 9- Slowly but surely, stride by stride and without missing a single painful step, Matthew Kipkoech Kisorio is meticulously retracing his path back from the deepest pit of sporting hell for any runner that comes in the shape of serving an international doping ban.
The Kenya captain to the 2011 World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain fell to the depths of utter desolation when he was slapped with a two-year suspension that ends July 2014 after steroids were found in his system at last year’s National Championships.
Now painstakingly trying to retrace the path back to the apex of his sport, a pantheon he reached when he was just 23, the gifted athlete told of his doping nightmare and the harsh lessons it has taught him from the moment a phone call from Athletics Kenya (AK) shattered his world July last year.
“It was July last year and I was called by Athletics Kenya telling me, “Matthew, you are wanted here.” I thought it was a good thing but when I went there, it was totally different from what I was expecting.
“That day, I was very disturbed on my mind since at the time, I had trained to break the world record for the 10K and Half Marathon.
“That was my aim with my coach, Claudio Berardelli since I had seen I could not make the full marathon at the time since I had not attained the required level to achieve that. That journey was cut short,” he stated the genesis of his woes with a strained look on his well chiselled dark face.
“It’s a time for deep thought for me and trying to adjust. My career is athletics, I was born to run. This has been a big challenge to me
“Sometimes I feel lonely when I see people train or go for races. When I want to train, I ask myself, why I should do it. I have struggled with life but I’m happy I have a family, kids, brothers and sisters who are close to me and they give me the morale and happiness.
“I have not lost hope; I still continue training and helping my brothers, sisters and other friends to train. I give them a programme and we train together,” the athlete who turned 24 on May 29 told.
As the seismic shock sunk in, it was soon apparent it was not only his career that was pulled away from under his feet as the first born of former athlete, Some Muge (first Kenyan to win a World Cross medal, bronze, in 1983), who passed on in 1997.
“Our family was somewhat poor since we were many. Everyone depended on me for school fees and other costs for upkeep but now, its easier since my brothers Peter (Kemei), Nicholas Togom and Ruth Chebet have ran abroad and they are helping me with offsetting school fees.
“They are also assisting me in meeting my training expenses like fuelling the car, food and long runs since I once used to help them achieve the same,” he said of his sudden transition from provider to dependant.
