Former Olympic 800m champion Wilfred Bungei has revealed that on the night marathoner Samwel Wanjiru fell to his death from a balcony at his Nyahururu home, he also nearly passed away due to binge drinking.
Bungei lives to tell a tale of how he managed to overcome his drinking habits that nearly risked ruining the life he had built as a renowned 800-meter specialist, expressing regret that his good friend Wanjiru did not live to survive his ordeal.
The renowned marathoner, who made history by becoming the first ever Kenyan to win a gold medal in the men’s marathon at the Olympic games, had created a reputation for having a rather calamitous private life off the track and road, involving a lot of drinking and family disputes.
Bungei has revealed that he was hospitalized on the same night Wanjiru died.
“The day my friend Samwel Wanjiru died, I was hospitalized having drank a liter and a half of vodka within 15 minutes,” Bungei told KTN News.
“I was rushed to hospital, given drips and by nine at night, I was okay and brought back home.”
Bungei, 43, admits that he cried upon hearing the news of his dear friend – and admitted it still makes him emotional 12 years down the line
“Around 4 AM the next morning, there was a boy I was living with- I was living in (the) upcountry at the time-. He came knocking on my door, I asked him, ‘What is it?’ and he said, Samwel is no more.”
“I cried and it still makes me emotional to this day. Why do I still get emotional? Because I felt that when I was rushed to hospital for drinking a liter and a half of vodka, I could have died myself. It became even more emotional for me when I learnt why he died- because he had drunk .”
Bungei believes that it is paramount that people suffering from the same problem are helped rather than dismissed, saying that Wanjiru would probably still be alive had he received help.
“I have spoken about it with a lot of people. Some of our family members can be alcoholics, but we do not understand why. We keep blaming them saying, ‘huyu ni mlevi’ and we do not say that they could be going through a problem. Maybe he is not well.
“Samwel probably did not have the structures. Probably, his family did not understand that he was going through a drinking problem or something.
“I remember there was a time we were invited to London and we were drinking together, but the way he was drinking at that time, I could tell it was not normal because it was the offseason and we were invited to the UK to give speeches in a number of places and in the evening, that would happen.
“I wish that if I knew then or had undergone treatment earlier, I would have been in a position to help because since recovering, I have met a number of athletes who have gone through similar challenges and spoken to them.”
“There was a time I was running a business in a hotel. Someone would walk in and I would tell he was not a social drinker but an alcoholic drinker. We alcoholics always say we envy social drinkers. Those who drink one beer and go home. For us, the moment we start, it is nonstop. We say one is too many, a thousand is not enough.”
