Two-time Olympic gold medalist David Rudisha, also one of the best long-distance runners in the world, is very fortunate to still be alive after being involved in a plane crash on Saturday.
The Kenyan athlete told the Nation newspaper his plane experienced engine problems around seven or eight minutes into a flight following an appearance at the annual Maasi Olympics event at the wildlife sanctuary in Kajiado in South-East Kenya.
The plane went down in the Imbirkiana area in Kajiado, with five other people aboard at the time of the crash. Thankfully, no one died, and everyone was evacuated to the Makindu Hospital thereafter.
Rudisha credited the pilot for remaining poised and steering clear of the trees below.
“It was a scary episode where you hold your heart in your hand as you pray to God,” the runner told the aforementioned publication. “The pilot did an incredible job to keep the plane afloat and stable for long. We thank God we all came out alive with some soft tissue injuries that were treated before all were discharged save for one.”
This isn’t the first time the 2011 Daegu and 2015 Beijing World 800m champion has had a brush with death. He was nearly killed when his SUV crashed into a bus in Kenya in 2019 but was lucky to escape with minor injuries.
“I had experienced some breathing difficulties after the accident, but I am fine,” Rudisha said after the first crash. “All will be well since I am out of any grave danger…we thank God.”
Rudisha is indeed a lucky man. Both of his incidents could have easily gone either way, so we are pleased to report that the champ is okay.
