Okal is the middle of three brothers, who all compete in triathlons.
His eldest brother Jesse, 23, is 36 places behind him in the world rankings, while younger sibling Joshua, 18, is poised to join the senior ranks.
Joseph admits the trio owe their success to their parents because of the “big role” they played in kick-starting their careers.
“The sacrifices they’ve made in terms of finance, in terms of everything, it’s so amazing,” he said.
“Sometimes they may be like, ‘Why are we doing this?’, but it’s the faith that our parents have in us.”
Okal now hopes his achievements will lead to improved funding and investment in triathlon infrastructure in Kenya so the sport can change the lives of others.
“I think now the government are going to believe in us more and give us more and just empower us,” he said.
“They’ll give us training facilities – all these things that we’re lacking right now. I think they’ll see that this sport can do wonders.”
Okal’s team manager Rommel Lukila believes triathlon is growing in Kenya, and Team Kenya Triathlon are aiming to boost participation further.
“We’ve come a long way in the last two or three years,” Lukila told BBC Sport Africa.
“Now there’s a lot of awareness about the sport, and the National Olympic Committee and government is recognising it. It’s developed quite significantly compared to previous years.
“As a federation, we’ve introduced county associations at the regional level. They are working side by side with the county governments to introduce the sport to schools, so that we start tapping on talent at a very, very early age.”
Not all will have the benefit of bloodline that Okal has, but perhaps Kenya can begin to challenge the rest of the triathlon world one day.
