Sabina Chechibi: The barefoot winner of the Commonwealth Marathon
Sabina Chechibi, popularly known as the petticoat runner was Born on 13/5/1959, she won her first marathon in 1973 while barefoot and wearing nothing but a petticoat.
At 14 years of age, Chebichi became the first Kenyan female athlete to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1974, she won bronze in the 800m Women’s race at 2:02.61 mins, and she went on to compete in the 4 × 400 m Relay and 1500m race.
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Chebichi started running in 1972, her first race was at Kechiko which she won. Sabina went on to become the first Kenyan female athlete to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1974.
When news about a schoolgirl competing without any kit broke out in the media, Feisal Sherman who was Secretary of Kenya’s Amateur Athletic Association (now Athletics Kenya) sent her running kit and proper shoes.
Sabina was selected to compete in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, which were held from July 17 to August 1 before Kenya and other African countries boycotted the games. When she got pregnant, her career came to a halt.
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