Fire At Legendary St. Patrick's High School In Kenya
Fire At Legendary St. Patrick's High School In Kenya
Today, a fire was reported at St. Patrick's School in Kenya, which is widely regarded as the best distance-running high school in the world with alums that
Today, a fire was reported at St. Patrick's School in Kenya, which is widely regarded as the best distance-running high school in the world with alums that include coach Colm O'Connell and athletes Wilson Kipketer and Matthew Birir.
The news broke first on social media, where world record-holder David Rudisha and sports agency Ikaika Sports tweeted a dormitory was burned to the ground:
The agent who initially tweeted the picture of the fire also said that there were no casualties:
This news comes less than a year after 12 St. Patrick's students were arrested for raiding a nearby girls' school. Kenyan media reported last week that there were a string of school arsons across the country, but the cause of today's fire is unknown.
Legendary Irish priest O'Connell was hired as a teacher at St. Patrick's in the 70s and has coached an enormous amount of world record-holders and Olympic and world champions since. The last two world record-holders in the 800m—Kipketer and now Rudisha—were coached by O'Connell; dozens of his St. Patrick's athletes have won world championships; and five of his athletes—Rudisha, Birir, Peter Rono in the 1500m, Brimin Kipruto, and Wilson Boit Kipketer—have won Olympic gold. Rudisha did not go to St. Patrick's, but is coached by O'Connell.
The news broke first on social media, where world record-holder David Rudisha and sports agency Ikaika Sports tweeted a dormitory was burned to the ground:
Dramatic scenes from St. Patrick's in #Iten/#Kenya. Prayers for Brother Colm, students & staff. / Photo by Ian Rono pic.twitter.com/WMa4sHlh4J
— Ikaika Sports (@IkaikaSports) July 26, 2016
St: Patrick's High School Iten dormitory on fire!!! Whats wrong with our schools? Something need to be done. pic.twitter.com/tXtpuskYoF
— David Rudisha MBS (@rudishadavid) July 26, 2016
The agent who initially tweeted the picture of the fire also said that there were no casualties:
St. Patrick's fire, unconfirmed report - No casualties. One dormitory burned down. #Iten #Kenya
— Ikaika Sports (@IkaikaSports) July 26, 2016
This news comes less than a year after 12 St. Patrick's students were arrested for raiding a nearby girls' school. Kenyan media reported last week that there were a string of school arsons across the country, but the cause of today's fire is unknown.
Legendary Irish priest O'Connell was hired as a teacher at St. Patrick's in the 70s and has coached an enormous amount of world record-holders and Olympic and world champions since. The last two world record-holders in the 800m—Kipketer and now Rudisha—were coached by O'Connell; dozens of his St. Patrick's athletes have won world championships; and five of his athletes—Rudisha, Birir, Peter Rono in the 1500m, Brimin Kipruto, and Wilson Boit Kipketer—have won Olympic gold. Rudisha did not go to St. Patrick's, but is coached by O'Connell.