Paralympian Alex Otieno recognised for his 'magical hand'

Kasyoka, a US-based retired athlete, gifted Otieno a tricycle wheelchair as an appreciation after the 57-year-old trained physiotherapist put to an end an incessant muscle problem which troubled the former when he was a junior athlete in early 2000s.

Otieno, who hails from Siaya County, won silver during the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games. He is also a bronze medalist after finishing third in the 1995 Africa Games in Tunisia.

The muscle pull and hamstrings specialist has seen his Midas touch shape many past and present Kenyan sports personalities, among them National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) president Paul Tergat, two-time world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba, marathon legend Douglas Wakihuri and decorated football players MacDonald Mariga and Dennis Oliech.

“As a former athlete I understand what fellow athletes go through when they are faced with muscle problems and that’s why I dedicated my energy in helping them overcome the problem.

“Kasyoka is one of the many athletes I’ve helped and I’m so proud he has remembered me after the good thing I did to him when he was a teenager. I’m guided by passion and the will to do good to other sportsmen and women and that’s why money is not my first priority when doing this job.”

Kasyoka said he donated the wheelchair as a special recognition to Otieno recounting how his magical hand ended a recurrent muscle problem after many unsuccessful surgeries.

“A friend of mine helped me meet Otieno after I had done many unsuccessful x-rays. He handled me and I gave him Sh.50 but imagine he declined. The following day I was fit again. He really helped get back my fitness and that’s why I came back to say thank you,” said Kasyoka, a certified brain injury specialist in the US.

Kasyoka, who unsuccessfully vied for the Mbooni parliamentary seat in 2017, is among the founders of the annual Machakos Great Run which enters its second year on July 30 at Thwake resort in Machakos County.