How alcohol almost destroyed the life of Olympic icon Wilfred Bungei

Wilfred Bungei [Photo: Courtesy]

As Samuel Wanjiru, Kenya’s first Olympic marathon gold medallist, lay dying on a cement slab in his home on May 15, 2011, fellow Olympian and track hero Wilfred Bungei, one of the world’s fastest 800-metre runners, was not running for gold, but death: Suicide.

In a macabre twist, alcohol featured prominently in Samuel Wanjiru’s life... and death, as it did in Bungei’s life... and near death, The Nairobian can exclusively reveal.