Moses Ndiema Masai (born 1 June 1986 in Kapsogom,

Mount Elgon District Mount Elgon District (Mt. Elgon District) was an districts of Kenya, administrative district in the Western Province (Kenya), Western Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kapsokwony. In 2010, it was merged into Bungoma County. Geography and de ...

) is a Kenyan runner who specializes in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

. Masai is from Bugaa village, four kilometres from

Kapsokwony Kapsokwony is a small town in Bungoma County, Kenya. The town is part of Mount Elgon County Council and Mount Elgon Constituency. Kapsokwony division has a population of 24,526, of whom 1,586 are classified as urban (1999 census ). The urban pop ...

town. Born to John Barasa Masai and Leonida Cherop, he is the first born out of ten children. He started running while at Kapsogom Primary School. Later he joined Bishop Okiring Secondary School. At the 2005

Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year Kenyan Sport Personality of the Year Awards, also known as SOYA Awards, are annual national awards given for sports personalities and organisations in Kenya. The awards were initiated in 2004 by Paul Tergat. The awards for each year are held at th ...

awards he won the most promising sportsman category. He won a bronze medal at the

2007 IAAF World Athletics Final The 5th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 22 and September 23, 2007. Results Men Women See also * 2007 in athletics (track and field) References ;Results2007 IAAF Wo ...

in the 5000 m. He ran in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and managed to finish in fourth position in the 10,000 metres final, narrowly missing out on a medal. His younger sister,

Linet Masai Linet Chepkwemoi Masai (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won her first world title in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletic ...

, won the women's 10,000 metres gold at the 2009 World Championships, while he won bronze over the same distance. Other siblings Dennis, Ndiema and Magdaline are also runners. Their father John Barasa Masai is also a former runner, while

Ben Jipcho Benjamin Wabura Jipcho (1 March 1943 – 24 July 2020) was a track and field Athletics (sport), athlete from Kenya, who won the silver medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1972 Summer Olympics, behind teammate Kipchoge Keino. Jipcho won ...

, a legendary athlete, is their distant uncle. Moses Masai won the 2009 New Year's Eve

San Silvestre Vallecana The San Silvestre Vallecana is an annual 10 km road race held on 31 December in Madrid, Spain since 1964. It has two editions: a fun run for amateur athletes and an elite race for professional athletes. In 2012, the race achieved its hist ...

race. He took the

World's Best 10K The World's Best 10K (WB10K) was a road race of 10 kilometers celebrated in San Juan, Puerto Rico every year. It is certified by the Association of International Marathons and Road Races (AIMS) and by the International Amateur Athletic Federat ...

title at the 2010 race in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, scoring a new course record of 27:19 and picking up a bonus for his fast time. He signed up for the

Dam tot Damloop Dam tot Damloop (; ) is an annual road running competition held in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. The main event is a 10-mile race from Amsterdam to Zaandam. The race was an IAAF Road Race Silver Label Event from 2013 until ...

in September 2010 and was a close runner-up to John Mwangangi, finishing a second behind his compatriot. He made only three appearances in 2011, running at the

FBK Games The Fanny Blankers-Koen Games, abbreviated as FBK Games, is an annual track and field event at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands. It is named after Fanny Blankers-Koen in 1981, but was named Adriaan Paulen Memorial after A ...

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic is a track and field meet held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and ...

and the

, but finished outside the top five on each occasion. In spite of his low-profile in prior seasons, he gained a place on the Kenyan Olympic team by coming second at the 10,000 m trials at 2012

. Unfortunately, at the Olympics themselves, he could only manage a twelfth-placed finish. Masai trains with PACE Sports Management. He is married to

Doris Changeywo Doris Chepkwemoi Changeywo (born 12 December 1984) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the 10,000 metres and cross country running. She began to enjoy success in athletics in 2006, becoming the East African c ...

and the couple has a daughter. He is not to be confused with another Kenyan runner named Moses Masai, known for running marathons and road races in Central Europe.IAAF profile for Moses Masai (marathon runner)
IAAF. Retrieved 29 June 2008.

Achievements

Key:

Personal bests

1,500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in Sport of athletics, athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalen ...

- 3:42.1 min (2005) *

3,000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m shou ...

- 7:44.75 min (2009) * 5,000 metres - 12:50.55 min (2008) *

- 26:49.20 min (2007)

References

*
PACE Sports Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masai, Moses 1986 births Living people Kenyan male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships medalists Kenyan male cross country runners 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen