kenyan gold
screenshots from the Runner’s World Magazine 2008 Beijing Olympics slideshow.
i don’t think i’ve ever photographed someone as nice as martin lel. especially considering that he’s got a lot on his mind, or should I say, under his feet, what with winning marathons and all — 10 out of the last 13, actually. and those three he didn’t win? he finished second and third, of course.
lel readily agreed to a portrait session despite his intense pre-olympic training schedule and we decided to shoot the next day about an hour outside of nairobi where he trains. on the day of the shoot I tracked him down on his mobile and we arranged to meet at a gas station/restaurant. In his plaid button-down and baggy brown corduroys you wouldn’t have recognized that this man was possibly the top marathon runner in the world; only his blindingly new nikes gave him away as something more than ordinary. those and maybe the black mercedes he was riding in. I followed his car further outside of town into the ngong hills, made famous by isak dinesen in her book out of africa, to an un-assuming house just off of a busy road surrounded by a 12 foot high cinder block wall. inside, a small but newish looking house stood tethered to and fro with clothes lines all hung with nothing but neon colored running outfits. it turns out that this is why we’re here, lel grabs some gear and slides back into the car, the black merc, which I realize is being driven by another kenyan super star, robert cheruyiot–the four time boston marathon winner. cheruyiot is the country’s other incredibly humble master of distance running and lel’s friend from childhood. scanning the horizon as we head out to our location, it appeared that the rainy season skies would stay clear and we were on schedule for a golden hour sunset. now all I had to worry about was his outfit.
i had asked him if he could wear his national uniform, but apparently, he didn’t have one. i was incredulous. “anything, with kenyan colors? red, or black? green even?” kenya has a beautiful flag, very African–RED, BLACK, GREEN, a shield, arrows even! he said he would try to find something but I was worried. i knew that he was only in country for a few days, if we postponed to get him in kenyan colors we might never be able to reschedule. my editor said we should just go for it and also suggested bringing a kenyan flag. i thought it was a good idea, maybe a little cliche, but it is the olympics after all.
as he gets out of the car he’s wearing a bright orange shirt and shorts accented in baby blue. so, not kenyan. so…dutch? but he was incredibly nice, giving me a ton of time, walking around with me to check out different vantage points, even agreeing to take off his shirt so that when I draped him in the flag the orange color wouldn’t clash with it. of course that’s the pic that ran; lel’s face lit perfectly by the setting sun, framed by lazy white clouds and that eternal blue sky.
if lel captures gold he’ll be the first kenyan to win an olympic marathon. he’s known for his explosive nail-biting finishes and in his first marathon in 2002 he finished second despite reportedly stopping to tie his shoes several times along the way. as always the competition is tough and interestingly, for the first time in decades, an american, the enigmatic ryan hall, actually has a chance at a podium position. this will surely be a race to watch. sunday, august 24th(saturday 23rd 7:30pm EDT).
for more on martin lel and the 2008 men’s Olympic marathon be sure to check out the article about him in the current issue of Runner’s World. photographs by j carrier.
