September 26 Birthdays

1963
Douglas Wakiihuri, Kenya, long-distance runner. Rather than training in his native Kenya, Wakiihuri moved to Japan in 1983, where he worked under the direction of Kiyoshi Nakamura, coach to Toshihiko Seko. In Japan Wakiihuri became a strong enough marathoner to be selected to the Kenyan national team, whose colors he was wearing when he won the 1987 (Rome) World Championships marathon (2:11:48). Wakiihuri followed up his world title with a silver medal in the 1988 (Seoul) Olympic Games marathon (2:10:47). He also won the 1989 London Marathon (2:09:03) and the 1990 (Auckland) Commonwealth Games marathon (2:10:27).