If not for the help of his brother and athlete Edwin Kipchirchir Kemboi, 23-year-old Philimon Kipchumba would have succumbed, missing out on winning the 2022 Generali Munich Marathon in Germany.
The 23-year-old clocked 2:07:28 to become a course record holder and one of the fastest Marathon debutants ever on Sunday, October 9.
In 2014, Kipchumba took part in a traditional ceremony but unfortunately lost excess blood and failed to inform his family.
One day, as he roamed around the village, Kipchumba went missing. According to the residents, Kipchumba seemed disoriented and dizzy.
A search of nearly 200 men immediately began, with the family of the 2022 Munich Marathon gold medalist wary of his whereabouts.
Recounting the horrific incident, Kipchumba’s sister-in-law, Anja Marlene Prieler-Kemboi, stated the athlete was found unconscious deep in the forest.
"We brought him to the hospital in Iten, a facility in the worst condition imagined. He seemed completely taken away, didn't eat, didn't drink, couldn't talk," Marlene, the wife of Kicphumba's brother, recalled on Friday, October 14.
Despite being in the facility, she felt helpless watching her young brother-in-law unconscious while waiting for assistance.
She claimed that nurses at the hospital abandoned the athlete, with the family advised to wait for the doctors.
The family watched as the young man was given glucose and iron syrups for two days before he gained consciousness.
Instead of waiting for the issue to escalate, the couple rushed Kipchumba to a city hospital for specialised care despite opposition from the nurses.
"Reaching the hospital, he was infused with blood which saved his life. One more day, according to the doctors, and he would have died," Marlene added.
After the near-death experience, the couple adopted Kipchumba and nicknamed him Toi. They took over his education and training as a professional athlete.
"Today, three years after he started training, he can call himself a 2:07 Marathoner, overall winner, course record holder, and one of the fastest Marathon debutants ever," she added.
