William “Bill” Koskei – Ugandan and Kenyan 400m hurdles champion
One of Africa’s best track competitors in the short hurdles (400 metres), he first raced nationally and internationally for neighboring Uganda before migrating east back to his native Kenya. Thereafter, he would continue to compete in the 400m hurdles and be part of the Kenyan 4 x 400m relay team during the 1970s.
Born on December 28, 1947, in western Kenya, William “Bill” Koskei is still remembered as one of the best 400m hurdles runners in Uganda, Kenya and Africa. Slender Koskei was relatively tall at 6’0″.
It was at the East and Central African Championships (an annual event involving mainly athletic stars from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia) that William Koskei first showed international prominence. In 1969, these regional championships were held in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Ugandan runner Koskei won gold in the 400m hurdles with a time of 51.4 seconds. In 1972, the same Championships held in the Tanzanian capital, Dar-es-Salaam, Koskei this time running for his native Kenya, won again in the 400m hurdles with a time of 50.7 seconds. At that time, Somalia and Ethiopia had enrolled their athletes in the championships. In 1977, at the same championships held in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, William Koskei, now almost 30 years old, again won gold in the 400m hurdles, after reaching the tape in 50.6 seconds. Koskei showed that he had maintained stability in his career as an athlete.
Charles Kipkemboi Yego had won in the same event at the Central and East African Championships at the Kenyan capital Nairobi venue in 1970, winning in a time of 50 seconds. John Akii-Bua of Uganda had won the 110m hurdles final at the same championships held in Kampala in 1969. Influenced by Ugandan track and field coach Malcolm Arnold of the UK, Akii-Bua became convinced he would reap more rewards as a 400m hurdles runner.
It is in Uganda, his former adopted country, that William Koskei is remembered for his most prestigious international individual stage: the silver medal he won in the 400m hurdles at the British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 16 to July 25, 1970. Racing for Uganda, Koskei won in the third heat of the first round, with a time of 51.37 seconds. Then came the semifinals. Koskei won comfortably in 51.39 seconds, and Kenya’s Charles Kipkemboi Yego came second in this semi-final in 51.73 seconds. In the final, England’s John Sherwood won in 50.03 seconds, Koskei was second in 50.15 seconds, Kenya’s Charles Kipkemboi Yego was third in 50.19. Uganda’s next superstar and future Olympic gold medalist, John Akii-Bua, struggled with a back strain and hernia, trailing behind in the final 100m, but still ran fast to finish fourth in 51.14 seconds.
In 1970, Bill Koskei of Uganda was ranked 7th among male 400m hurdles runners in the all-time world rankings behind the 1st-7th ranked hurdlers respectively: Jean-Claude Nallet (France), Ralph Mann (USA), Wayne Collett (USA), Ari Salin (Finland), John Sherwood (Great Britain), and Charles Kipkemboi Yego (Kenya). 1970 would be the only year that Koskei would rank in the top ten in the world in the All-Time World Rankings. However, “Track and Field New” ranked Kenya’s Koskei tenth in the world in 1973 and ninth in 1974.
Commonwealth Games silver medalist William Koskei’s performance at the Summer Olympics held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26, 1972 to September 11, 1972, was highly anticipated. Although he did not rank among the top ten 400m hurdles in the world in 1972 or even 1972, Koskei was still regarded as an Olympic medal hopeful. Koskei, along with Uganda’s John Akii-Bua, reigned as Africa’s best hurdlers. The August 28, 1972 issue of “Sports Illustrated” predictably listed American Ralph Mann as winning Olympic gold, Bill Koskei as second, and John Akii-Bua of Uganda as bronze.
The 1971-72 Australian Open Athletics Championships were held on 22-26 March 1972 at Perry Lakes Stadium, Perth, Western Australia. In the second round of the 400m hurdles on March 25, Bill Koskei took second place behind Gary Knoke of New South Wales, Australia in a relatively slow time of 52.2 seconds. The finals involved much more speed. Gary Knoke won in 49.3 seconds, Bill Koskei came second in 49.4 seconds and Bruce Fields from the Australian Territory of Victoria ran third in a time of 49.9 seconds.
In July 1971 in Durham, North Carolina, Akii-Bua had won the Africa vs. USA Akii-Bua proved that this was no fluke by clearly beating his African rival Koskei, along with the rest of the African and American contingent, to win with an impressive personal best of 49.05 seconds. American and No. 1 ranked champion Ralph Mann did not show up. He was competing in Europe.
At the 1972 Olympics, William Koskei, although running in the favorable lane 4, was disappointedly eliminated in the first round. His fourth place in Series 2, in a time of 50.58 seconds, would not carry him to the next round. It was practically Koskei’s last chance at the Olympics, as the next two Olympics, held in Montreal (1976) and Moscow (1980), were boycotted by Kenya and many other nations. It was 1972 when Koskei was at his peak, the year he achieved a personal best of 49 seconds. At the 1972 Olympics, Uganda’s John Akii-Bua won with a world record time of 47.82 seconds, becoming the first man to officially run the 400m hurdles in under 48 seconds. Ralph Mann won silver by several yards away and trained Olympic champion David Hemery of Great Britain competing to a very close third place.
The second Pan African Games were held from January 7 to 18, 1973 in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria. Bill Koskei reached the final of the men’s 400m hurdles. Also in the final lineup was recently crowned Olympic gold medalist and world record holder and Koskei’s nemesis, John Akii-Bua of Uganda, who was expected to win. Akii-Bua won easily, but surprisingly Akii-Bua won in a very fast time of 48.54s, at the time among the fastest times ever run in the steeplechase, and certainly the fastest time in African soil. . Koskei took silver, running nearly two full seconds (50.22s) behind Akii-Bua, and a photo finish ahead of bronze medalist Silver Ayoo (50.25s) of Uganda. Akii-Bua would soon comment that although he was comfortably far ahead of the rest, as he neared the final turn of the race, a glimpse of revered Nigerian President General Yakubu Gowon, visibly decked out in military and revered, atop his the stands, watching and cheering. , prompted him to speed up.
The next big international challenge would involve Kenya’s Koskei at the British Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from January 24 to February 2, 1974. In the end, William Koskei won a medal at these Commonwealth Games, just as he had done for four years. earlier. England’s Alan Pascoe won in 48.83 seconds, Australia’s Bruce Field came second in 49.32 seconds and Koskei won bronze when he came in for a photo and finished third in 49.34 seconds.
At these 1974 Commonwealth Games, the 4x400m relay final had legendary Olympic gold medalist Charles Asati departing from Kenya, handing over the baton to Francis Musyoki, who would in turn hand it over to Bill Koskei. Koskei passed the baton to legendary Olympic relay medalist Julius Sang, who took gold for the Kenyan relay team with an overall finish of 3 minutes 4.43 seconds.
At the Victoria Championships held in 1975 at Olympic Park, in the 400 m hurdles, Koskei lost third place (50.8 seconds) in the finals to Alan Pascoe (50.4 seconds) from England, Bruce Field (50, 6 seconds) from Australia. Koskei’s performance in the 400m hurdles was flagging. A few more international performances by Koskei, in the 400m hurdles, were internationally mediocre.
The next British Commonwealth Games were held in 1978, Canada in the territory of Alberta, in the city of Edmonton from August 3 to 12, 1978. Once again, Bill Koskei participated in the gold medal victory from Kenya, and his Kenyan relay victors included Washington Njiri, Daniel Kimaiyo and Joel Ngetich. The winning time in Edmonton was 3.03.54. Kenya had won consecutively in the men’s 4x400m relay for all 12 years, at three consecutive Commonwealth Games. It is notable that Africa’s most populous nation and home to many world-class athletes boycotted the Games over political grievances over participants affiliated with apartheid South Africa. The aging Koskei, this time in 1978, did not win a medal in the 400m hurdles, but his compatriot Daniel Kimaiyo won gold for Kenya, Kenya’s first gold in the event. William Koskei would soon be removing his nails with a degree of satisfaction. He had raced with dedication for two nations and would retire from racing with two gold, one silver and one bronze medal from the British Commonwealth. William “Bill” Koskei will forever be etched in history as a dedicated national champion who not only commendably represented two African nations, but triumphantly won gold, silver and bronze medals at the British Commonwealth and African Games as well. , but who was in the 1970s ranked as one of the best 400m hurdles runners in the world.
