Samuel Wanjiru's Book Doodloper ( Death Runner) is Out

In commemoration of Samuel Wanjiru's life on the first anniversary of his tragic death, a Dutch journalist Frits Conijn prepares to launch a book Doodloper ( Death Runner - The tragic end of Olympic marathon winner Samuel Wanjiru).

Doodloper - cover of the Samuel Wanjiru book

This famous athlete who died under mysterious circumstances in the yet-to-be resolved case was one of Kenya's best marathon who led from the front giving Kenya her first ever marathon gold in the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. This has set the pace for Kenyan marathoners who have grown in leaps and bounds in the last 24 months winning major marathons across the world and breaking the world record too in the men's race.
Back to Samuel Wanjiru's book, Frits Conijn and Simon Maziku ( Tanzanian-born now Dutch citizen) seeks to tell the story of the life beyond the marathoner's seemingly rosy success that he enjoyed to a rather lonely and sometimes fast-paced life that the runner led outside the race tracks.
It also tells of the downsides of the success borne by this great young man who was immensely talented as acknowledged by athletics critics. The book comes at a time when Kenya is busy preparing her team for the Olympic Games in London seeking to retain among others the marathon title that Wanjiru won.
The book should also be a constant reminder to upcoming talent of the need to stay grounded amidst the glitz and glamour that their careers are bound to bring. For more details, see this story by sports journo, Elias Makori in the Daily Nation - Tragedy behind Wanjiru's smile. You can also follow Frits Conijn on his Twitter handle @FritsConijn for updates on his travails across E.African and Dutch sport.