Former Kenyan long-distance runner David Chelule has died aged 49. Athletics Kenya (AK) said he died on November 6. The federation announced his death on Monday. Neither AK nor Capital FM gave a cause of death.
Chelule was born on July 7, 1977, according to AK. His breakthrough came in 1996. That year he won gold in the Under-20 8km race at the World Cross Country Championships in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He also took silver in the men's 5,000m at the then IAAF World Junior Championships in Sydney, Capital FM reported.
He returned to Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games and finished fifth in the 5,000m, AK said. A year earlier, in 1999, he had won the national 10,000m title in 28:37.5.
Capital FM listed his other wins. They included the 3,000m at the 2000 Torino Nebiolo Day International, the 2002 Le-Puy-en-Velay 15km, the 2006 Prato Half Marathon and the 2007 Milano 10km. His last competitive race was the 2010 Brescia Marathon. He won it in 2:13:53.
AK said Chelule raised the Kenyan flag high on the international stage. In its condolence message, the federation said his "dedication, talent and commitment to athletics earned him a place in Kenya's rich sporting history." It added that fellow athletes, coaches and the wider athletics community would remember his contribution.
The federation called his death a great loss to his family, friends and the whole athletics community. It sent condolences to his family, former teammates and everyone who worked with him during his career.