Kenyans were over the moon on Sunday, April 23, when Kelvin Kiptum and Hellen Obiri produced electrifying performances to bag the men's and women's London Marathon titles respectively.
From President William Ruto to the ordinary citizens, they all took time to congratulate the two speedsters for flying the nation's flag high.
However, Kenya's success on the global stage made some states envious to the point that they tried, on numerous occasions, to lure star runners to represent them using various incentives including money.
Kenyans.co.ke looked at three prominent athletes who chose patriotism over switching their allegiance to other nations after they were presented with fat cheques to obtain new citizenship.
Ezekiel Kemboi
Ezekiel Kemboi, one of the best steeplechase runners to ever emerge from Kenya, revealed in a recent interview, that he declined good money from foreign nations to switch his citizenship.
The multiple world champion stated that some Kenyans picked the cash to compete for Western and Arab nations, but he politely declined.
“I was offered a lot of money by several countries but I declined. There is something we call patriotism. I am a patriot because I love my country,
“I remember in the early 2000s, there were some Whites and Arabs who came to Kenya with the intention of paying athletes money to run for other nations. So, there were Kenyans who went to Qatar and Bahrain, but I chose to stay at home,” he told Cheche 254.
Dennis Oliech
Ex-Harambee Stars prolific striker Dennis Oliech also turned down a large amount of money to play for another country.
In a recent interview, Oliech told popular radio presenter Fred Aracho that Qatar had even prepared a passport for him.
“Qatar gave me a good offer but at that time I was still young. So, I wasn't able to decide whether it was a good or wrong move.
“It was around Ksh100 million to Ksh 150 million. They had already given me a new name and a passport,” he divulged.
The former Gor Mahia forward added that if given an offer now, he would take it within a blink of an eye.
Moses Tanui
Moses Tanui, one of the most accomplished road race runners of the 21st century, is another Kenyan who turned down an offer to compete for a foreign nation.
According to Tanui, he was offered a huge sum of money to betray his country and run for Italy but his conscience could not allow him to betray Kenya.
“I had been offered Italian residency but I declined because, during my days, patriotism was key.
"The rewards by the foreign country were huge, but running for your country comes with a sense of pride," he was quoted by Standard.
Tanui, who hails from Elgeyo/Marakwet, was the first person in the history of road race running to run a half marathon in less than an hour.
His world record of 59:47 was set in Milan, Italy on Saturday, April 3, 1993.
It took five years for his fellow countryman Paul Tergat to lower it to 59:17. The current record of 57:31 is held by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo.
