Portal:Kenya/Selected culture biography/13

Naftali Temu (20 April 1945 – 10 March 2003) was Kenya's first olympic gold medalist. He was an athlete, who won the 10.000 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Born in then Nyamira District now Nyamira County, Naftali Temu started running at the age of 14. After completing schooling, he joined the Kenyan Army.

Temu competed at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, where he finished 49th in marathon

He won 5000 metres silver medal at the inaugural All-Africa Games in 1965, the race was won by Kipchoge Keino. He burst onto the international long distance running scene at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, where he won gold medal and beat the world record holder Ron Clarke in the six miles. Two days later, Temu finished fourth in the three miles.

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