Silvia Kibet ‘s life may not be free of challenges but it is what many people desire and look up to. Behind her gleaming smile is a supportive husband with whom they have set up various ventures including rental houses, a guest house and two petrol stations.
Here is Kibet’s inspirational story as told by WoK:
Family of athletes
Kibet is a cousin to Lorna Kiplagat, an iconic athlete who owns the High Altitude Training Centre in Iten. She has four sisters who are also athletes but reside abroad.
At a tender age of 14, Silvia Kibet began her career in athletics. She lived true to the definition of her Iten hometown which has been christened The Home of Champions as she advanced to the national levels.
“I started running when I was very young. I was like 14 years old and began in primary school then went for competitions from district level, provincial and nationals,” she said in a past interview.
She then joined Sing’ore Girls High School, an academic giant in Elgeyo Marakwet. After high school, Kibet’s running lustre began to fade. She then met her husband, Erastus Limo and got blessed with their first born.
But it is her husband who pushed her to break the mould and resume training. Limo was also an athlete but suffered a knee injury which sank his career.
“He was the one who made me better in running and made me start going for road races,” recalls Kibet.
Illustrious Career
Around 2006, Kibet’s career started with a huge achievement when she won bronze in the 5000m Africa Championship (Mauritius). In 2008, she clinched a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics.
She won silver in both the 2009 and 2011 World Championships in Berlin and Daegu respectively. Kibet also won silver in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In 2012, she failed to qualify for the London Olympics.
Businesses and Investments
While Kibet would take on the tracks, her husband would manage the family’s businesses. In a past interview, she was full of praise for her husband and said that he would at times cook for her when her schedules were packed.
“I am lucky to have a very humble husband and he’s very cooperative. He is taking care of everything,” Kibet says.
The family opened their first petrol station in Iten town and the venture was a success. Back then, there was no single petrol station in Iten town. It grew from a small business and is currently rebranded as a National Oil filling station.
The couple also owns a guest house and rental houses both in Iten and Eldoret. In 2019, Kibet opened another petrol station named Belio Highway that is approximately a kilometre from the heart of Iten.
Various athletes including Mary Keitany were in attendance and Kibet took the chance to advise upcoming runners on investing their earnings.
“When my husband got a persistent injury, he decided to concentrate on the first petrol station and it was good we had already invested. That is why I would like to urge the upcoming athletes to always think ahead and use the money they win wisely,” she said as quoted by Nation.
