Simeon Kigen was the best road racer in the world in 1985 with awesome talent who trained, relatively, very little. However, sadly he went back to Kenya for a visit later that year and wasn't allowed back in the US.
Conor Dary brought up Simeon Kigen, mentioning his great road-running career in '85. I don't remember the details of '85, but in '84 he was running great. Kigen was named to the Kenyan Olympic team in the marathon and was at the Kenyan high altitude camp. The Minister for Culture and Social Services made a big deal that year about athletes staying at the camp - and had threatened anyone with expulsion from the team if they left. He made a surprise visit to the camp, Kigen had left, so no Kigen at the OG. Kigen, incensed, ran the tough San Francisco marathon course one week after the OG - with no pacemakers - and ran 2:10:17, winning by a large margin.
Why wasn't he at the camp? A coach who was there told me this unverified story: Kigen had received $10,000 as an under-the-table payment for a road race he had won in the US right before he flew home. He put the cash in his suitcase(!) - and guess what was missing when he arrived in Nairobi? He left the camp to try to find his $10,000 - and subsequently lost much more.
I never heard of the guy - but on this basis, was he a threat to Lopes ?
I tried to look up some info on Simeon (sometimes listed as Simon) Kigen in pela2's lists, and on the Association of Road Race Statisticians Web site (http://www.arrs.net/).
His 2:10:18 at SF Marathon in 84 made him the 14th best performance (12th performer) that year. Most others ahead of him that year were from the Chicago Marathon (5 performances faster than Kigen's), the OG marathon (3 faster), or (East) Berlin marathon (2 faster). Kigen's performance at SF seems to have been a solo effort: 2nd was Dave Gordon 2:12:23 (his lifetime best 2:11:41), 3rd was Massimo Magnani 2:13:44. Kigen's time is still the event record at SF (and Gordon's is 2nd fastest ever for SF) -- no other winner ever under 2:13 at SF. However, comparisons are difficult. This is the comment on the SF marathon on the ARRS web site: "The course used for the SF marathon has undergone almost annual changes and relocations..."
In ARRS's "race time bias" calculations -- where they try to determine whether a course should be considered a slow or fast course, compared to some sense of average, the 84 SF marathon course is listed as "no bias" -- ie, not considered by them to have been notably difficult, or fast.
All that said, Kigen's performance was still among the best of the year.
Here are the two fastest performances for him I could find from 1985:
March 2 Phoenix 10km road
1. John Treacy 27:46
2. Mark Nenow 27:48
3. Kigen 27:51
April 27 Walnut 10,000
1. Ed Eyestone 27:41.05
2. Kigen 27:43.9
We all have our own perceptions of these things, but mine is this, regarding the question of whether Kigen was a threat to Lopes in the 84 OG marathon: I think he may well have been in the mix for a medal, but I don't think anyone would have beaten Lopes in that race. To me, Lopes just looked unbeatable that day.
I knew Simeon fairly well for the short time he was in Boulder from 1984 until December 85. A very pleasant fellow, an incredible talent, but not the sharpest guy on the planet. SK was taken advantaged of by someone in town who knew better, and by others who tried but gave bad advice. The worse advice SK took was from a runner visiting from England who arranged a marriage for SK to an American! Alas, it didn't take long before the truth came out and Simeon became persona non grata with the immigration authorities.
However, he wasn't deported and seemed to be alright as long as he stayed here. The last time I saw Simeon was in November 85 and he said he was going back to Kenya for a short time and come back. Knowing his situation I asked if he had some guarantee from Immigration that he could come back. He said he did and thought everything would be alright and forgot about it. Shortly, after he left I ran into one of these 'advisors' and asked what kind of guarantee Simeon had for getting back. This simple minded fellow stated that Simeon was married and would have no trouble getting back. Ho, ho, ho....
I knew then that Simeon was screwed and would never get back. Which unfortunately turned out to be true.
As for his talent, a couple of anecdotes: Simeon hated cold weather and would avoid running whenever it snowed. Since this was Boulder where it snowed a lot, needless to say, Simeon didn't get out much that winter. However, he did show up to one of our BRR long Sunday runs in March 85, when there were a few inches of snow on the ground and temperatures in the 20's. Because of the slippery conditions we were only running about 7:30 pace or slower. But even this was too much for Simeon as he soon drifted back by himself. A month later Simeon runs 46:13 for the Cherry Blossom 10 mile.
The other tale is a fartlek run on the Potts outdoor track in town that summer. Rob De Castella who was living in town then, had a favorite workout of fast straights and jog the curves for 3 miles. On this day Simeon tagged along in a pair of Terra TC racing flats. Running in lane two the entire way, Simeon looked pretty relaxed and easy while Deek really pushed the straights. I timed them and they did 13:48 for 12 laps.
Simeon last race was the 1985 Chicago Marathon. After staying with the flying Steve Jones for 4 miles, Simeon blew up and ran 2:19. Simeon's big mistake a few weeks earlier was going on a hard 30 mile run with Deek 3 weeks before the race. For Rob this was his normal preparation for a marathon. But for the light training Simeon it was all too much.
A sad story for one of the really greatest talents I ever saw.
Simon Kigen ran 2-3 yrs at Miss St, before becoming a road whore. Don't know his finacial situation, but he raced almost weekly, and don't believe he did anything on the track after leaving college.
gh wrote:At one time at least, being married to an American was sufficient grounds for staying.
On the other hand, the INS has become (even pre-9/11) very tough on marriages of convenience. Perhaps that's what actually tripped him up.
The big problem for Simeon in this case is the American girl involved confessed the whole thing not long after it happened. It was soon common knowledge in Boulder that the whole thing was a ruse.
