At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, Kenya competed under the British flag. In 1964, at the Tokyo Olympics, Kenya competed for the first time as an independent nation under its own flag. Wilson Kiprugut won a bronze medal in the 800 metres, the first Olympic medal for independent Kenya. It was a moment that pointed toward what was to come: decades of athletic dominance that would make Kenya the most successful distance-running nation in Olympic history. The journey from Tokyo bronze to 107 Olympic medals began with Kiprugut crossing the line in Japan.