Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had urged Kenyan athletes to be prudent in the way they invest the earnings they get from their accomplishments.
Speaking at State House on Tuesday, the DP said he couldn't understand how athletes end up in poverty after retirement.
"It's saddening to see people who have been very successful and famous living in squalor after retirement," Gachagua said.
On a light note, the second in command said that he would have been an athlete had he known the money they were making.
He said people from his region (Mt Kenya) didn't know that the athletics business has a lot of money
“Unfortunately, I didn’t know that athletics has a lot of money; had I known this 30 years ago I would have been the fastest man in the world,” Gachagua said.
World record holder Faith Kipyegon and sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala on Tuesday received royal treatment after being hosted by President William Ruto at State House.
President Ruto said his government will award the double World record holder Kipyegon Sh5 million and a house worth Sh6 million.
This, he said, will be a reward for the two records she broke for 5,000 metres and 1,500 metres.
Ruto also gifted 100m sensation Ferdinand Omanyala Sh2 million after he jokingly asked for tea at State House.
