by Brett Larner I don't expect that many people will take the considerable time necessary to read the full texts of all four interviews in this series . I plan to edit the most important quotes from Samuel Wanjiru’s Japanese mentors and colleagues together into a cohesive account of his career from the Japanese point of view, but in the meantime, looking at the commonalities between the interviews and other previously-published details this story emerges, incomplete as it is: Wanjiru was discovered by the Japanese scout Shunichi Kobayashi and sent to Sendai Ikuei H.S. in 2002. At Sendai Ikuei, he was educated and developed by Takao Watanabe , who focused not only on development as an athlete but also on psychological and personal development. Watanabe receives unanimous credit in Japan as the primary influence on Wanjiru's mental and spiritual growth. Watanabe introduced Wanjiru to Kenyan Stephen Mayaka , a longtime resident of Japan who came to assist Wanjiru in h...
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