Caroline Jepchirchir Chepkwony (born 27 April 1985) is a Kenyan

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who competes in

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

competitions. She started her career as a track runner and she was the runner-up at the

African Junior Athletics Championships The African Athletics U20 Championships, known formally as African Junior Athletics Championships is a biennial continental athletics event for junior athletes from African nations. Organized by the Confederation of African Athletics and first h ...

in 2001 and won the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

bronze medal at the

2004 African Championships in Athletics The 14th African Championships in Athletics were held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo in July, 2004. Since African Championships is a biennial event, this edition was contested only a month before 2004 Summer Olympics. Thus some top athletes shun ...

. She represented Kenya at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

and the

2007 All-Africa Games The 9th All-Africa Games (; ), also known as Algiers 2007 (), took place from 11 to 23 July 2007 in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Algiers became the first city to hold All-Africa Games for a second time. The 1978 All-Africa Games were a ...

. From 2007 onwards she focused more on German and French road races. She is a two-time winner of the

Hamburg Half Marathon The Hamburg Half Marathon is an annual road running event held in Hamburg, Germany. It is currently sponsored by . History The race was first run in 1995 in Hamburg Stadtpark and was named the Hamburg-Mannheimer Cup. In 2003, the course was cha ...

and was the 2012 winner of the BIG 25 Berlin. She has a 10K best of 32:32, a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

best of 1:08:36 and a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

best of 2:30:34.

Career

Born in Kapsigoria Village in Kenya's

Elgeyo Marakwet county Elgeyo-Marakwet County is one of Kenya's 47 counties. Located in the former Rift Valley Province, its capital and largest town is Iten. It borders the counties of West Pokot to the north, Baringo County to the east, southeast and south, Uasi ...

, Chepkwony's first success came at the

2001 African Junior Athletics Championships The 2001 African Junior Athletics Championships was the fifth edition of the biennial, continental athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwin ...

, where she was the silver medallist in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

behind

Vivian Cheruiyot Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan Long-distance running, long-distance runner. She represented Kenya at the Athletics at the Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning the silver medal i ...

. In 2004, she was second in the

at both the

Kenyan Athletics Championships The Kenyan Athletics Championships is an annual track and field meeting which serves as Kenya's national championships for the sport. Athletics Kenya, the country's governing body for athletics organises the event. The championships is usually hel ...

and the Olympic trial race. She did not have the qualifying time to attend the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, but was selected for the

and won the bronze medal at that competition. She won her first national title in 2005 and set an 800 m best of 2:03.6, but again did not have the standard for the major championship (the 2005 World Championships). She competed at the

but did not make it past the first round. It was that year that she first began to compete in European

road races Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily closed public ...

and she won the Spiridon Silvesterlauf, Basler Stadtlauf, Course de l'Escalade,

Course du Noël Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

and set a course record at La Corrida Bulloise.Course de l'Escalade
ARRS. Retrieved on 2013-10-26. She continued to mix road races and track running in 2007 and ran for Kenya in both the 800 m and the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

at the

.Caroline Chepkwony
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-10-26. Berlin marathon 2012 am kleistpark between kilometers 21 and 22 30

Chepkwony missed the 2008 season but successfully returned in 2009 with a focus on road events, winning the Course de l'Escalade for a second time and taking the

title with a time of 1:15:22 for her debut over the distance. She competed in smaller scale events in 2010 but was rewarded with numerous victories, including the

Lotto Cross Cup Brussels The Lotto Cross Cup Brussels, also known as the IRIS Lotto Cross Cup, is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in mid-December in Brussels, Belgium. It is part of the Lotto Cross Cup series of races and is classed as an IAAF ...

, the Kö-Lauf and Alsterlauf Hamburg

10K run The 10K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 10K road race, 10 km, or simply 10K, it is one of the most common types of road running event, alongside the shorter 5K and longer half ...

s, half marathons in Hamburg and

Altötting Altötting (, , in contrast to "Neuötting, New Ötting"; , ) is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, capital of the Altötting (district), district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in ...

, and the

Zürcher Silvesterlauf Zürcher is a Swiss or German surname. It is a habitational name for someone from the city of Zürich. Notable people with the surname include: *Brigitte Zürcher, Swiss orienteer *Christoph Zürcher, German professor *Erik Zürcher (1928–2008), ...

. In 2011, she retained her titles in Brussels, Hamburg and

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, as well winning the Course du Noël for a second time. In addition, she won the Murtenlauf and Kerzerslauf races for the first time. The 2012 saw Chepkwony begin to participate in higher standard road competitions. She ran a personal best of 68:36 minutes for third place at the

Berlin Half Marathon The Berlin Half Marathon is a major endurance event held annually in early spring in Berlin, Germany. Besides the runner's main race, the event includes a race for inline skaters, wheelchair athletes and handbikers. All athletes use the same c ...

, then won the BIG 25 Berlin race. This earned her a place in the elite selection for the

2012 Berlin Marathon The 2012 Berlin Marathon was the 39th edition of the annual marathon event and was held on Sunday 30 September on the streets of Berlin, Germany. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the third World Marathon Majors event to be held that year. Geoff ...

and in her first attempt at the classic distance she managed to finish in 2:30:34 hours, coming in seventh place. Aside from her exploits in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

she repeated her win at the Kerzerslauf (setting a course record), won the Grand Prix von Bern 10-miler, and had another win at the Course du Noël. She made three half marathon outings in 2013 and finished in the top three each time, coming third at the

Paris Half Marathon Paris Half Marathon (''French language, French: Semi-marathon de Paris''), known as the Harmonie Mutuelle Semi de Paris for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon held every March in Paris, France since 1993. Kenya's Stanley Biwott i ...

and runner-up at the

Göteborgsvarvet Göteborgsvarvet () is an annual half marathon running competition in Gothenburg, Sweden (often called the Gothenburg Half Marathon in English). It is the largest annual running competition in the world in terms of entries, with its 62,000 entr ...

and Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon. The

Ljubljana Marathon The Ljubljana Marathon is the largest running event in Slovenia, organized annually since 1996 by the City of Ljubljana and implemented by the Timing Ljubljana Association. It takes place every year on the third weekend in October. The main eve ...

saw her make her best ever run for the distance, as she won the race in a time of 2:27:27.Chepkwony beats the breeze in Ljubljana
IAAF (2013-10-27). Retrieved on 2013-10-28.

Competition record

Notes

* The official IAAF birth date for Chepkwony is 27 April 1985. Other sources list her date of birth as 18 April 1984.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chepkwony, Caroline Jepchirchir 1985 births Living people Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners Kenyan female steeplechase runners Athletes from Elgeyo-Marakwet County Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games athletes for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games African Games athletes for Kenya