Boys Cross Country -- Young Keino Following Father's Steps

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. - Kenyan track gold medalist Kip Keino enjoyed jogging around a pond with his son, Bob, but the Keino isn't about to challenge the 18-year-old to a race.

"I jog . . . but I run slow," Kip Keino said. "Many people can beat me now. But he, he can really run."

The elder Keino is visiting his son, Bob, a senior at Ridgewood High School. Four of Keino's seven children have come to the U.S. to study.

"It's a very nice place, Ridgewood, but it's cold here," Kip Keino said. "But Bob is getting a good education here. That's what's most important. That's why my children have come here. But we hope they come back to live in Kenya."

The two Keinos are scheduled to go to California, where the teenager will compete in the national high-school cross-country championships in San Diego next Saturday. Bob Keino finished fourth in the event last year.

He won the Northeast Regional meet last month by running 5,000 meters at New York's Van Cortlandt Park in 15 minutes, 41.4.

"He is the most complete package in terms of talent, intelligence and instinct," said Ridgewood cross-country coach Larry Coyle.

The slender, 6-foot-1 Keino is coming off an Achilles' injury.

"It's frustrating," the softspoken teen said. "I want to run every day. I think it will be OK for the race."

Bob Keino said he plans to attend college in the United States next year. His top choices include Stanford and Georgetown as well as Arizona, where he could join older brother Martin, one of the nation's top college runners.

Kip Keino won medals in all four Olympic events in which he participated. Keino won his first gold medal in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He set an Olympic 1,500-meter record of 3:34.9 and won a silver for his 14:05.2 at 5,000 meters. In the 1972 Munich Olympics, the member of the Kalenjin tribe won a gold medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in an Olympic-record 8:30.8 and his 3:36.8 earned silver in the 1,500.

Bob Keino said he's not intimidated by the track feats of his father or older brother.

"People put pressure, I just go on and run," he said. "I don't really compare myself to them."