Sweet And Sour.

I’m not a huge football fan but soccer in Africa gets the attention of even those of us who have never bought a soccer team shirt. We have a lot of talent in our colourful continent. But football is more than a sport in Africa. It’s a way of life, a unifier that gives people hope. So much hope that we forget our problems momentarily and unite as one. That’s always a heartwarming picture.

My fondest memory of world-class football in Africa goes way back to 2010 when we hosted the World Cup for the first time. The kickoff was on June 10^th and that was also the kickoff for my parenting journey. My baby shark was born early that morning. I called her the heir to my estate. I still remember hassling the hospital nurses to get us a room with a TV so that I wouldn’t miss the opening match. She grew to love soccer and even played for her school team. Let’s just say she represents the family in soccer conversations till now.

Ivory Coast won the Africa Cup Of Nations (AFCON) recently. It was extra special for them to win it on their home ground. It was the classic comeback when all indications showed they would be eliminated in the group stages. It was so bad that they fired their coach after a poor start. Who would have thought that they would go to the very end, slay Goliath Nigeria and lift the trophy? Just like the elephants they are named after, they swept every team they met.

One star player stood out because his victory was the personal trophy he lifted in 2022 before helping his team and country win the AFCON this year. 29-year-old Sebastian Haller was diagnosed with cancer in July 2022. Thankfully the treatment worked and he recovered fully. He scored the winning goal for his team in the finals leading to Ivory Coast being the first host nation to lift the trophy since Egypt in 2006.

I wonder what kept Sebastian going and fighting during his battle with cancer. Did he have leakage of what would transpire less than two years later? From fighting for his life to being most alive while making history for his country. Folks whatever we may be going through, there is always something to live for. Many of us give up because we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. But just because we can’t see the light doesn’t mean it’s not there. Chances are there is a flood light that’s just about to come on if we shikilia (hold on) a while longer, as it did for Sebastian. That might just be what will win us the trophy of victory over our tribulations. Now that’s what I call a sweet African story.

Tragically, we woke up this week to a sour and very bitter African story. 24-year-old Kelvin Kiptum perished in a car crash alongside his Rwandese coach. Kiptum had just begun writing athletic history after he was crowned last year as the men’s marathon world record holder. He was now targeting to run the 42-kilometre marathon in under two hours, a first in an open competition. That dream was shattered on Sunday night when his car crashed on the Ravine- Eldoret road.

I first heard the news from the newspaper guy on my street as I took my baby sharks to school on Monday morning. Kiptum’s death feels like such a waste of talent and huge accomplishments. I’m sure many are asking questions and wondering what might have been if he was still alive and went on to run in the Rotterdam Marathon in April. Would he have beaten our global icon Eliud Kipchoge and broken his record and set others? Was his biggest and last assignment on earth to just run the Chicago marathon in October last year, smash the record and then check out?

We will never know the answers to some of these and many other questions. Why does life end just when it seems to be starting for some? And yet for others, the sun rises and sets in slow motion without hurry. Kiptum was nowhere near the ripe old age we often hear about. He was just ripe for global dominance and the old was a distance far far away, or so we thought.

The Good Book says a thousand years are like one day to Sir God. And one day could be like a thousand years. We have a right to celebrate life especially when we are back from the brink like in the case of Sebastian. We also have a right to mourn deeply and feel the loss like in Kiptum’s case which just doesn’t make sense. We feel his absence so that can only mean that his presence was necessary.

The reflections for me from both these young African giants is that life can be sweet and sour. We are meant to maximise our gifts and talents as early as possible for tomorrow is never guaranteed. We have lost Kiptum but I bet he has inspired thousands of young men and women from humble backgrounds to reach for the top. Sebastian has done the same and proven that one can be down but never out.

May these two lives motivate us to get up and get going, for now, is all we have. We owe it to the world to make the most of what we have with the time we have. Maybe if we live that way then it won’t matter much if we checkout at 24, 44 or 94. We will still have lived a life worth celebrating and managed to die empty irrespective of our age. Kiptum may have left us at 24 but his impact will last those 1000 years the Good Book talks about.

Rest in power Kelvin and keep rising Sebastian. Africa remains deeply proud of you both. Many will rise and shine because you did. May we all live with a sense of urgency folks and get busy with our assignment on earth.