CAXIAS do Sul, Brazil, May 10 -Winning gold at the summit of sport is truly a feather in one’s cap.
But the success story doesn’t just end with the medal haul- it’s indeed a spirited continuation of grit and grace!
For the 24th Summer Deaflympics men’s 10,000m gold medalist Symon KIbai, “it’s literally the urge to also keep the ball rolling and get the work done.”
With an apparently insatiable hunger for success, Kibai led Kenyans Peter Toroitich and David Kipkogei to an emphatic clean-sweep of medals in the southern Brazilian town of Caxius do Sul and revealed his burning desire to become a Deaf marathon champion through his interpreter.
“I hope to perfect my act in 10,000m and 5,000m; then I can hopefully upgrade to the 42km marathon specialty. I feel motivated to do marathons now that my good performances in Caxius do Sul and Sofia continue to speak volumes about my capability.”
–Fresh Impetus–
“It reaches a time in one’s career when you feel that you need some fresh impetus into your career- and that’s a marathon for sure,” he quipped of the dream he’ll be chasing in the near future.
Kibai is leaving nothing to chance and believes he’ll soon become a force to be reckoned with once he takes up road racing.
The star Deaf athlete also noted that the new dreams he is chasing will be above and beyond what’s expected of him in marathons.
He is not ruling out being the next Eliud Kipchoge, hence the initiative to inspire a generation of the Deaf community in the country to embrace the art of running.
“I started with 1,500m, then moved up to 5,000m and 10,000. So, the essence is to perfect my basics and then go for the longest version of running and hopefully win a gold medal. I also want to break a marathon world record before calling it quits. As Eliud Kipchoge would put it, no man is limited,” he narrated.
Kibai spoke of a great feeling to rack up gold and indeed lead his compatriots to silver and bronze.
“I really wish to thank the Government of Kenya for the support they have extended to us from the time we began our preparations and the officials who accompanied the team as well as our local media personalities who came to extend their support to publicize the Deaf sport,” he went on.
“When we started the race, I was already dreaming of getting a medal, a gold to be precise,” he added.
Asked why the three Kenyan’s were a cut above the rest in the 10,000m race, Kibai attributed the feat to a levelheaded coach.
“The Coach was on the ball. He imparted to us some valuable running experience on how to pace ourselves at the start, and where to up our speed and indeed to attack in the last 100m.”
“Through our race strategy our opponents couldn’t catch us. The Coach has been meticulous and inspiring from the time we started camp till the race. It’s been attention to detail from when we were in the national trials. Since then, we have realized a steady rise in our work-rate,” KIbai added.
Kibai broke a world record in the 10000m in Sofia in 2013 and the beauty of it all is that the record is yet to be surpassed.
“I hope to do it again and again before moving up to the grueling marathon race in the near future,” he said in finality.
