Samuel Kamau Wanjiru

I could've taught the gold medalist if i was placed in Sendai, Japan 6 years ago.

From The Yomiuri Shimbun:

BEIJING--Samuel Wanjiru, who on Sunday became the first Kenyan to win an Olympic marathon, thanked two Japanese mentors who coached him during his six-year stay in Japan. Wanjiru said he learned how to be patient during a race from his first coach in Japan, Takao Watanabe, the manager of Sendai Ikuei High School's track-and-field club. Wanjiru demonstrated this skill by enduring adverse conditions during Sunday's race, in which temperatures rose as high as 30 C. He repaid his second mentor Koichi Morishita, who won a silver medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, by going one better and claiming the gold. The crowd welcomed Wanjiru with a deafening roar when he arrived at Beijing National Stadium. With his arms raised aloft he crossed the finish line in an Olympic record time of 2 hours 6 minutes and 32 seconds.
"It was patience--the patience I learned in Japan. I was able to control myself in today's race. I want to thank Mr. Morishita," Wanjiru said in Japanese.
Wanjiru, 21, arrived in Japan in 2002 to study at Sendai Ikuei High School in Miyagi Prefecture, and joined its track-and-field club soon after. Watanabe, 61, said he was soon impressed with Wanjiru's physical ability and rhythmic running.
Wanjiru cultivated his extraordinary talent under Watanabe's watchful eye. "I told him to be patient during the race and not to make a dash for it too early. My aim was to teach him how to use his stamina efficiently," Watanabe said.
Watanabe received a phone call from Wanjiru on Friday night. Watanabe said he told Wanjiru: "Be patient [and stay in the lead group] in the middle stage of the race. The chance to spurt ahead will definitely come after this period."
The race went exactly as Watanabe predicted. Wanjiru broke away from two other runners at around the 37-kilometer mark, and no one was able to catch him.
"I was happy to see him fully displaying his abilities during the race," Watanabe said.

After graduating from the high school, Wanjiru joined Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc.'s track-and-field team based in Fukuoka Prefecture, coached by Morishita. Wanjiru said he learned about Morishita through a track-and-field magazine published in his country, and had admired him for a long time. Wanjiru's talent was nurtured further during his time with the team, and he won the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship in December--his first competitive marathon.

Wanjiru decided to leave the team before the Beijing Olympics to prepare for the Games in Kenya. Morishita, 40, reportedly motivated Wanjiru by saying, "I was only able to win silver in the Olympics, so I want to see you take gold in Beijing."
Wanjiru became famous in Japan in 2004 by playing a part in Sendai Ikuei's victory in the national high school ekiden road relay held annually in December.
Four years later, Wanjiru is now a father. He says he looks at a picture of his family on his cell phone when he feels the need to relax.
After the race, Wanjiru promised to break the world marathon record.
"I aim to run under 2 hours 4 minutes next year," he said.