Siblings Beryl and David Wamira prove disability is not inability

Beryl Wamira when she won the 2018 Sports Woman Living with a disability award.  [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

 

Beryl and her elder brother David may be deaf, but that is not a problem as they have vowed to excel no matter the circumstances and no make it even more interesting they have taken their sibling rivalry to the tracks.

Both are sprinters and have represented Kenya at international events. They have braved the lack of foundational facilities for elite athletes and have conquered Africa and the World in Deaflympics championships.

At the Africa Deaf Athletics Championships held at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in September 2019, Wamira became a household name.

They helped hosts Kenya triumph in the continental competition and affirm her dominance in athletics.

“Disability is not inability and I am living proof,” said Beryl.

Born in Rarieda, Bondo, Siaya County in a family of eight siblings, the duo, alongside their sister Rael and father Bartholomew Oketch Wamira are deaf.

David, the third born, says they have to battle hard to help their family.

He says that since they started representing Kenya internationally, life started getting better for their parents. Beryl is the fifth-born.

“My parents are very poor so we work hard on the track to uplift their standards. Jointly, we have built them a house, started them a business and ensured they are living well,” David said.

 David, inspired by his namesake and two-time Olympic 800m gold medalist and world record holder David Rudisha, started athletics aged 14 while in Class 7 (2004) at Nyangoma School for the Deaf, while Beryl started athletics while in Class Four at the same institution.

Deaflympics Beryl Wamira with her Sportswoman living with disability award during the 14th Edition of the SOYA gala awards at KICC, Nairobi on Jan 17, 2018. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

“I used to run for fun during the Physical Education lessons in primary school. With time, I developed interest in running and I would even represent the school during the division and district school games,” says Beryl.

They later joined Father Oudersa’s Special School for the Deaf in Bondo, where their career blossomed.

Alongside other students, they trained during games time, and the training would intensify whenever a competition was approaching. And it did not take long before their efforts started paying off.

David would break through the ranks in 2010 and 2011 also winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay as Beryl captured the attention of the national team while in Form 3 in 2011 when she won the 100m and 200m sprint races from the division to the national level, repeating the same in 2012, which included 4x100m relay.

In the same year, the duo made their debut in the international games during the 2012 World Deaf Athletics Championship held in Canada where Beryl won gold and silver in 200m and 100m respectively as David won silver in 200m.

Both David and Beryl agree that the journey has not been smooth. For a start they had no coaches nor training facilities back home in Siaya County.

They also did not enjoy the privilege of the government’s decree that grants persons living with disabilities free access to sports stadiums since there is none in Rarieda.

“It was hard keeping up with training because we had nobody to guide us. Most of the time the grounds we train on are football pitches which are not recommended well for athletics," David said.

Beryl added: “Lack of coaches forced me to only train while in school, with my teachers acting as coaches. Again being deaf, for people to understand us was not easy considering Siaya is not a region well known for athletics.”

Beryl Wamira during a past training session at Kasarani. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Despite all the challenges Beryl, 25, is the World Junior 200m Deaf Athletics record holder of 24:46 set in Sofia, Bulgaria during the 22nd Summer World Junior Deaf Athletics in August 2013, a record she set when she was 18.

She was the first Kenyan deaf athlete to win a gold medal at the world stage (Canada, 2012).

In 2016, she won bronze in 200m in Bulgaria during the World Deaf Athletics Championship before bagging silver in 100m and 200m during the 23rd Summer Deaflympics in Turkey in 2017.

She has participated in five international competitions and has won nine medals; five gold, three silver and one bronze.

The sterling performance saw her receive the Presidential Award Scheme for Young People in 2015 and a Certificate of Recognition from the Ministry of Sports during the 2016 Mashujaa Day celebrations in Machakos.

On the other hand, David’s achievement is winning a silver medal in men’s 200m at the 2013 World Deaf Athletics Championships in Toronto, Canada.

He also won bronze in 200m during the 2013 Deaflympics in Sofia, and won silver and bronze in 200m at the 2016 Bulgaria World Deaf Championships and 2017 Deaflympics, respectively.

At the African championships held at Kasarani in September last year, the two siblings teamed up and put up a sterling performance in the sprints.

David clocked 23.73 secs to win the men’s 200m while Beryl bagged two gold medals in 100m and 200m races in 12:87 secs and 26.17 secs respectively.

David Wamira during the opening of the 1st Africa Deaf Athletics Championship Games at Kasarani stadium on Tuesday, Sept 17, 2019. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

They also were part of relay teams that on gold for Kenya.

In the men’s 4x400m race, David teamed up with Simon Gona, Mwenda Nzioki and Charles Atima to win in 3:24.55 while Beryl alongside Linet Nanjala, Paul Simiyu and Elisha Wekesa won the 4x100m mixed relay.

David relishes the idea of being a coach for deaf athletes when he calls it to quit on the track.

He, however, hopes to win at least one gold medal for Kenya in the 200m and also be part of a golden 4x400m relay team before hanging his spikes.

The 24-year-old hopes to fly the Kenyan flag alongside other runners at the 2020 and 2021 World Deaf Championships and Deaflympics, respectively.

David Wamira during the opening of the 1st Africa Deaf Athletics Championship Games at Kasarani stadium on Tuesday, Sept 17, 2019. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]