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MP Wesley Korir blames water officials for his failure to finish marathon


Kenyan marathoner MP Wesley Korir has sensationally blamed officials for his dismal performance at the Rio Olympics, which saw him fail to complete the race.

Korir, 33, who is the Member of Parliament for Cherangany Constituency, was expected to post an impressive performance in the marathon in Rio, alongside his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge who bagged gold in the same race in 2:08:44.

However, things failed to go to script and Korir took to social media to lash out at the water officials.

In the Facebook post, Korir says: “…water mix-up at 30km where the officials mixed up my personal drink with Stanley Biwott, where I was given Stanleys and he was given mine caused both of us to have some serious stomach problems!!!”

“Missed my drinks 3 times due to poor Kenya water officials handling and had to borrow Eliud’s, too, which made me throw up in the middle of the race!!! But all in all I am happy to have had the opportunity to represent my country in Olympics and help my country…Thanks to all who supported me and prayed for me!! To God be the glory all the time,” he said in the post.

Korir rose from a track star to the echelons of Kenyan politics in 2013 when he was elected MP, flooring then incumbent Joshua Kutuny. Korir still maintained his love for athletics.

The MP, who is married to Canadian athlete Tarah McKay, has, in the past, competed in a number of marathons.

On 16 April 2012, he won the Boston Marathon with a time of 2:12:40. He also won the Los Angeles Marathon in 2009 and 2010.

The curtains came down on the Summer Games on Sunday with Kenya winning 13 medals; six gold, six silver and one bronze.