The 27-year-old Belgian track and field star has spent the past few years preparing for Tokyo 2020, ever since she clocked a personal best of 13:13.02 to qualify for the 5,000m in 2019.
But his journey to the Olympics started much before 2019.
Kimeli’s mother left her home county of Usin Gishu in Kenya and moved to Belgium when she was four years old, working as a nurse at a local hospital. “My mother was coming to Belgium in search of a better life,” he says.
At the time, he was left in the care of his grandparents – admitting that at such a young age, he felt helpless by her absence. “I think it was hard to see why she was leaving for another country.”
When Kimeli turned 15, she also left Usin Gishu and was reunited with her mother in Sint-Peters-Leuw. He says that at first it was difficult for them to foster a good relationship, as they had not seen each other for over a decade. “It’s a little strange to see your mother again after so many days.”
Having never set foot on a plane before, he arrives in the wide-eyed but apprehensive capital city. Without a close-knit community and unable to speak the local language, he struggled to fit in with his new environment.
“The weather was very cold,” he says. “I didn’t speak French, and I didn’t speak Dutch. For me, everything was new.”
There was also a difference in community dynamics. In Kenya, Kimeli had a habit of spending time with her close-knit group, building strong bonds through shared meals and regular interactions. But in Belgium, his lack of interaction with fellow residents left him feeling isolated.
“Here you don’t talk to your neighbors, it was a big difference.”
finding her feet
A bored and lonely teenager, Kimeli was home to Kenya. “I didn’t like Belgium, I wanted to go back home,” he says.
But his luck changed when his PE teachers saw him running a cross-country event. He was going to school to learn Dutch at the time but was having more success on the track than in the classroom.
“I was winning every time … two minutes ahead of the other classmates,” he says.
His PE teachers encouraged him to join a track club to harness his talent, although it took him some time to understand the rules of the game.
In his first junior events, Kimeli ran a lap and began to celebrate his finish, before realizing there was more to go by the end of the race.
“When I got there in the beginning, I felt like I was in front of the other athletes,” he says. “I think I was in 25th place.”
“Nobody told me it would be two or three laps,” he continued. “It was ridiculous.”
Kimeli also tried his hand at football, but the language barrier proved to be too much of a hindrance.
“It was difficult because you’re playing with people who speak Dutch, and I don’t speak Dutch,” he says. “When he told me, ‘Give me the pass, give me the ball,’ I didn’t understand.”
Eventually he settled on running, as the solitary nature of the sport meant he had to rely only on himself.
His mother bought him a pair of running shoes, and he began training at Hallerbos with his first coach, David Evanpole. In 2011, Kimeli competed in her first international competition at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Turkey.
Committed to an Olympic Dream
Two years later, Kimeli committed to his dream of going to the Olympics when he won a silver medal in the men’s junior race at the European Cross Country Championships in Serbia.
He began training with Tim Moreau, who, encouraged by his results, told him, “‘We’re going to work hard and maybe one day you can go to the Olympics, maybe you can run with the big guys. Huh.’
“I said, ‘Coach, do you really want me to go to the Olympics?’ He said […] “You have the talent, just start training and focus on yourself,” Kimeli says. “That’s the moment I told myself well, if you take second at the European Championships, you’ll have more progress.”
“My role is to mentor athletes and give them experience,” Kimeli says. “I try to inspire other athletes.”
‘I want to make my family proud’
“I’ve grown as an athlete,” he says, “I think mentally I’m a lot stronger.”
Kimeli was not introduced to the sport at Usin Gishu, but to spend time at school and with his grandfather to care for cattle on his family’s farm.
“When I was in Kenya, I never ran,” he says.
But perhaps his success on the track was predetermined.
When Kimelli was growing up, her grandfather imparted important life lessons that set her well for her journey to become an Olympian.
“My grandfather was like my father,” he says. “He taught me, ‘Isaac, in your life, you have to be smart. You have to respect people. Don’t talk too much, just focus on yourself. Enjoy your life and work hard,’ help the family.
“Don’t forget what’s important.'”
His grandfather died soon after Kimelli moved to Belgium, so he never got to see the success of his grandson.
Last year, Kimeli visited his family in Kenya, where he had a chance to commemorate his grandfather by giving him the first school cross-country medal won by his final resting place. “I gave him a medal to make him proud.”
He says his grandmother, who is thrilled with his achievements, calls him when she sees his race on TV, saying, “‘Don’t forget us.'”
moving to belgium
By sharing her story, Kimeli hopes that others will be inspired to pursue their dreams, no matter where they come from.
“When I was in Kenya, I never dreamed I could wear Adidas or Nike shoes,” he says. “I want to show other young people that everything is possible, and no one is limited.”
He expresses as much gratitude for his new home as he does for his birthplace. “I want to thank Belgium, they gave me a lot of opportunities,” he says. “Belgium changed me as a person and my life as well.”
“I know my blood is Kenyan, but in my heart I am running for Belgium.”
With less than a month until the scheduled start date, Kimelli says his participation in the Games doesn’t feel real yet.
“Going there is still a dream, and understanding how a young boy from Kenya who was running without shoes […] Now he’s going to the Olympics,” he says. “It’s amazing, I still can’t believe it. I believe it when I’m in Tokyo.”
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