An unforeseen Paralympic debut
As winter set in in the Southern Hemisphere, Dennis headed to Europe to continue training and competing in warmer weather.
It was a decision which expedited his Paralympic debut in totally unforeseen, serendipitous circumstances.
While Dennis was in the UK, the Secretary General of the Kenyan Paralympic Committee called to ask if he was interested in working as a team chauffeur at the Paris 2024.
“It sounded awesome and I could continue my training in between shifts, so I went. During work one day, I got told by the guy who was in charge of the cycling committee that one of the boys had had a crash. As a registered triathlete, I was now needed to pilot Kennedy Ogada in the visually impaired road cycling time trial.
“It was terrifying, but the legend that is Ogada made me feel at home. He said, ‘Look, I wouldn’t be competing if you weren’t here, so let’s go out and just do our best’.
The new pair had to wait for a new tandem bicycle to arrive, as the last one was badly damaged in the accident.
Dennis then revealed that it was his first time riding a tandem bike, three days before racing in the Paralympic Games time trial.
“It was quite something but we got on with it. It was pouring with rain the day the tandem arrived, but we spent the day practising in the wet.
Dennis and Ogada competed in the men’s cycling event, the only African team to qualify for the B1 road race and time trial.
Mechanical issues ultimately prohibited the pair from completing the road race, but they finished 11th in the time trial event.