Nabiba Naftali Temu (1945 - 2003)

Born 20 Apr 1945 in Nyamira, Nyanza, Kenya

Died 10 Mar 2003 at age 57 in Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

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Biography

Naftali Temu is Notable.

Naftali Temu was born in Kenya

Naftali Temu was a Kenyan long-distance runner who became his nation's first Olympic gold medalist when he won the 10,000-meter race at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Naftali was born 20 Apr 1945, Nyamira, Nyanza, Kenya. He was a member of the Kisii ethnic group, and grew up in a cattle-herding family.

Naftali started running at the age of 14. After completing schooling, he joined the Kenyan Army, where he rose to the rank of corporal.

Naftali made his international début at age 19, at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, where he was 49th in the marathon. The following year, he won 5000 meters silver medal at the inaugural All-Africa Games of 1965. His big breakthrough, however, came at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, where he defeated world record holder Ron Clarke in the 6-miles to win gold.

At the 1968 Olympics, in the 10K final, Ethiopian Mamo Wolde took the lead at the bell, but Naftali passed him on the final straight to win the gold. it was the first Olympic gold medal ever won by a Kenyan athlete. Four days later, Naftali took bronze in the 5,000. Three days later, he also ran the Olympic marathon, but struggled home in 19th place.

Naftali had little success in the final few years of his athletics career. He finished nineteenth in the 10,000 meters at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, and was eliminated in the heats of the 10,000 meters at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Naftali retired from sports in 1973 and later ran a farm in North Mugirango, which had been given to him by Kenyan president Jomo Kenyatta.

Naftali died of prostate cancer, 10 Mar 2003, at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi. He was 57 years old.

Sources

• Wikipedia entry for Naftali Temu
• Olympics.com entry for Nabiba Naftali Temu.

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q435758

Acknowledgements

• This profile has been contributed to by the members of the WikiTree 15 Nations Global Tour of 2023