SIX months before the start of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, a young Kenyan took up the 3,000-meter steeplechase because he was a failure in the 5,000-meter run. He won his first steeplechase and soon was chosen for the Kenyan Olympic team. In Mexico, he won his heat in unspectacular time, displaying an awkward style that made purists prickle. In the final, he was 30 yds. behind the leaders with one lap to go. Suddenly, Amos Biwott, 21, took off like a hartebeest in a bush fire, hitting the front on the...
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