Henry Rono in action during training to run in Snake River Canyon in North-Western USA in Washington State, May 1978.
While at Washington State, Rono became only the third person in history after Gerry Lindgren and Steve Prefontaine to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Cross Country Championship three times, doing so in 1976, 1977 and 1979.
His winning time of 28:07 in 1976 remains the fastest 10,000m cross country mark in NCAA’s history.
Rono never competed at the Olympics, because Kenya boycotted the 1976 and the 1980 Games and by 1984, he was no longer competing.
The 68 year old Rono, who relocated to the USA in 1986 now lives in South C with his family. He came back last year.