Faith Nyasuguta
Four-time marathon gold medalist Felix Limo went all out to break the stereotype associated with athletes, that they are all talent and no brains.
On Wednesday, April 4, Limo revealed that he hung his running boots after 14 years in the industry and chose to pursue a career in medicine.
After silently struggling with a spine injury, he opted out of the track and chose to follow his life-long dream.
“The spine injury forced me out, I could run 30 kilometers well but thereafter, I would feel pain in my spinal cord. I did not want to end up in a wheelchair and decided to pursue knowledge.”
“I tried to look for something to get me busy and a course to prove that athletes are smart,” Limo said.
He disclosed that he always envisaged going back to school after athletics. To him, education was the key that unlocked many doors.
“I had the passion because I was a herder at primary school and that is how I raised money for my high school fees,” the gold medalist noted.
Despite amassing wealth and setting up businesses including real estate, and hotels, he believed that only education would help him keep and grow his money.
Limo enrolled for a diploma in veterinary medicine abroad guided by his passion for animals. He then came back to the country and enrolled for a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science.
“The diploma was enough for me to deal with the health, but the second case was about management and care of the animal to produce more,” he noted.
Currently, the athlete runs a huge dairy farm with several high-breed dairy cows. He applied his newly acquired knowledge to turn the venture into a multi-million business.
Limo reiterated that he is still proud of his success on the track having conquered the Berlin, Rotterdam, London, and Chicago marathons.
Ahead of joining the marathon, he ran the 15,000-metre race. The graduate listed his victory over Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie in Nijmegen, Netherlands.
“My highlight was when I broke my 15,000 m record against Gebrselassie which then became a world record until 2010,” Limo disclosed.
