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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Kenya Commercial Bank RFC: Kenya |
| Preferred position / style / stance / technique | Forward |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Media Production - East Africa School of Media Studies: Nairobi, KEN |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | In October 2017 he underwent hernia surgery and took a rehabilitation break for three months. (citizentv.co.ke, 19 Dec 2017; capitalfm.co.ke, 18 Oct 2017) He had surgery after breaking a bone in his right hand in January 2014. He returned to play in the Japan leg of the 2013/14 World Series in March 2014. (ghettoradio.co.ke, 14 Mar 2014; nation.co.ke, 24 Apr 2016) In 2008 he broke his jaw and lost all of his front teeth and was hospitalised for four days. (nation.co.ke, 11 Aug 2019) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His friend Andrew Okwaro played rugby and introduced him to the sport. |
| Name of coach | Dennis Mwanja [club], KEN; Innocent Simiyu [national], KEN |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began playing rugby in 2003. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2006 |
| Competing for | Kenya |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Opede (osbke.com, 30 Jan 2014; Twitter profile, 01 Jun 2016) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook." (Instagram profile, 01 Jun 2016) |
| Other information | RETIREMENT PLANS He plans to retire from the sport after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "I won't be in this game for long and with the Tokyo Olympics being my last competitive outing, I want to fully move into strength and conditioning coaching purely in rugby. I never thought the Games would be pushed back by one year [speaking in 2020]. I am now waiting to see how things unfold as I consult my people on what to do next. People are telling me to hang around for one more year. (nation.africa, 02 Apr 2020; nation.co.ke, 24 Mar 2020; nation.co.ke, 11 Aug 2019) COACHING He has a World Rugby level I coaching diploma in strength and conditioning, and aspires to pursue a level II certification in 2021. "We have lacked variety in rugby, the game lacks proper strength and conditioning coaches. The needs for rugby are quite different from football, athletics and any other sport hence specialisation is vital." (nation.africa, 02 Apr 2020; nation.co.ke, 24 Mar 2020; nation.co.ke, 11 Aug 2019) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Daughter Nicole [2012], son Tyler [2017] |
General Interest | |
| Other sports | He has represented Kenya in rugby union [15-a-side]. (nation.co.ke, 11 Aug 2019; shujaapride.com, 01 Jan 2019; coastweek.com, 06 Jul 2013) |
| Awards and honours | In 2019 he received a Head of State Commendation [HSC] from the president of Kenya. (nairobinews.nation.co.ke, 20 Dec 2019) He was named 2007 Most Improved Player by Kenya Commercial Bank [KCB] club. (kcbrfc.blogspot.com, 26 Nov 2007) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning the 2016 Singapore Sevens tournament. (standardmedia.co.ke, 05 Aug 2020) |