“It was a terrifying moment where you literally hold your heart in your hand and pray to God. The pilot did an amazing job keeping the plane in the air and stable for a long time. Thank God we all got out alive,” Rudisha, 33, told The Nation.
World record holder Rudisha last raced five years ago. He became a participant in the accident while departing from the so-called Maasai Olympics, a sports competition for representatives of this ethnic group, to which he himself belongs. He was the guest of honor at the event. A few minutes after takeoff, the plane’s engine stopped and the pilot maneuvered above the trees. When he tried to make an emergency landing, one wing caught a tree and the spinning machine landed on a rocky field. Only one of the six passengers, who has injured ribs, suffered more serious injuries.
The 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion Rudisha found himself close to death for the second time. In 2019, he escaped with only minor injuries from an accident when his SUV crashed into a bus at high speed due to a sudden flat tire.
