From top athlete to tea picking: How illness cut short woman's sports career

Beatrice Murugi discovered her talent for running while in Standard Four, a skill that would eventually take her to Japan as a teenager and into professional athletics.

Today, the former athlete lives in Kerugoya, Kirinyaga County, after health problems brought her running career to an end.

Murugi, originally from Kagochi village in Mathira, says her running talent was identified while she was a pupil at Wangui Primary School in Ngamini, Ndaragwa, Nyandarua County.

A trainer known as Kioni noticed her potential and took her to a training camp. He later helped her travel to Japan at the age of 14.

She joined Toyo Power School, where she studied from Form One to Form Three and completed her studies in 2011. At 17, she was recruited by Toyota to compete as an athlete.

Murugi says her earnings from athletics allowed her to support her family, including buying land for her parents and paying school fees for her siblings.

Her time as an athlete also came with setbacks. She says she lost money in an unsuccessful land transaction in Kiamaina and later bought a lorry for transporting cabbages, which was involved in an accident at Del Monte in Thika. She says the driver subsequently disappeared.

In August 2016, Murugi gave birth to her child. Three months later, she returned to Japan, where she competed in a half marathon before returning to Kenya.

She was later recruited by another company and continued running for about a year before developing problems with her legs.

Murugi returned to Japan for treatment and was later out of training for about five months before resuming her career.

She says her health challenges became more persistent in 2021, when she began experiencing abdominal swelling and discomfort.

She sought treatment at several health facilities and says she was initially informed that she had a uterine problem that required surgery.

At Mwea Mission Hospital in Karira, she says she was prescribed five injections a month, each costing Ksh10,500. She says the treatment initially reduced the swelling, but the condition returned after the fifth injection.

She was subsequently prescribed medication that she says cost up to Ksh30,000 and was referred to several health facilities for further treatment.

The illness has since prevented Murugi from returning to professional athletics and has also limited her ability to undertake strenuous work.

She occasionally seeks casual work, including tea picking, although she says her condition has made it difficult to secure such jobs.

“Sometimes when I go to look for work picking tea, the farm owner says I cannot do it,” she said.

Murugi says her child is currently attending school in Waigiri with assistance from a neighbour.

She says she is now focused on managing her health and rebuilding her life in Kerugoya after years spent competing and living between Kenya and Japan and has appealed for help to start over.