Bartonjo Rotich

Bartonjo Rotich began training seriously on the track in 1952 as a schoolboy. With mentors who saw both his intellectual and athletic potential, he was given opportunities to compete and train and made his international debut at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He participated in the 400 metres and the 4 x 400 metres relay (alongside Kamau Wanyoke, Kiptalam Keter, and Kibet Boit, but did not advance beyond the heats in either event. His next stop was the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, where he won a bronze medal in the 440 yards hurdles. This made him one of the first Kenyans, with Arere Anentia who earned bronze in the six mile race, to win a medal at an intercontinental championship. He was also sixth in the 4x440 yards relay (alongside Boit, Keter, and the non-Olympian Samuel Chemweno) and eliminated in the heats of the 4x110 yards relay (with Boit, Chemweno, and Seraphino Antao).

Rotich’s final major appearance came at the 1960 Summer Olympics, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 400 metres and the semifinals of the 400 metres hurdles. By career he studied at the Kenya Institute of Administration and Oxford and went on to work in government administration. He was head of the Kenya Amateur Athletics Association (now Athletics Kenya) from 1968 through 1972 and eventually settled into business, property management, and farming in his later years.

Personal Bests: 400 – 47.0y (1960); 400H – 51.39 (1960).