Joseph Leresae

Last updated

Joseph Leresae
Personal information
NationalityKenyan
Sport
Sport Athletics
Eventhigh jump

Stephane Joseph Leresae (born 1937) is a Kenyan retired high jumper, who competed at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Biography

Leresae is from Maralal. He went to Narok Primary School, where his teacher William ole Ntimama (who later became a prominent politician) spotted his jumping talent. [1]

Leresae competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics, finishing 18th in the high jump. [2]

In 1958 he was third behind Patrick Etolu at the British 1958 AAA Championships [3] [4] [5] [6] and finished fourth at the 1958 Commonwealth Games. [7] He missed the 1960 Summer Olympics as he was committed to his work at East African Railways. [1]

He is an East and Central African champion from 1961 [8] and finished fifth at the 1962 Commonwealth Games, [9] although his performance was hindered by the fact that he lost a spike from his shoe and was unable to get a replacement. [1]

He once held the British Empire high jump record of 6 feet, 8 inches. [10]

Leresae was a Maasai herdsman. [11]

Until her death, he was married to Anne Gathoni and had 12 children. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Daily Nation, July 13, 2002: "Lerisai a forgotten pioneer high jumper". Archived from the original on 23 August 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. "Joseph Leresae Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  3. "Ibbotson quits... Pirie flops" . Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 13 July 1958. Retrieved 2 May 2025 via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  5. "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  6. John Bale and Joe Sang: Kenyan Running: Movement Culture, Geography and Global Change London: Frank Cass, 1996. ISBN   0-7146-4218-5
  7. Sporting-heroes.net: 1958 Commonwealth Games Athletics results
  8. gbrathletics.com: EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
  9. Sporting-heroes.net: 1958 Commonwealth Games Athletics results
  10. Reports: East Africa series. 1952.
  11. East African Geographical Review, 19:1: Book review: Kenyan Running: Movement Culture, Geography and Global Change Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine