I realised I could run after finding out that my dad used to run and it gave me the morale that if he did it then maybe I could also run.

Going to the Olympics as a Maasai I want to make them proud because, after the warm welcome they gave me when I went back and being their leader, I want to also be the warrior in the Olympics. That will be something good because that will be the first Olympic gold medal for the Maasai.

I missed the final of the World Championships in 2009, but I told the coach I would break the world record in 2010. Which I did. Then in 2011 I won the World Championships and now in 2012 it is the Olympics. That is how I have been working.

My dad used to ignore me when I was a kid. He couldn't stand my voice, so he just used to ignore me, and then he'd impersonate me.

Brother Colm is one of the best coaches who's ever been here in Kenya. He's been, of course, my coach since I started running. He saw me in high school when I was still doing 400, and 200 meters. He decided for me to join his club and we'd been training for one month. That is when he saw me and he thought I could do a good 800.

When I was a little boy, I always wanted to run. I loved competing with my friends.