Moses Ndiema Masai (born 1 June 1986 in Kapsogom,

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

) 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 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 awards he won the most promising sportsman category. He won a bronze medal at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Final in the 5000 m. He ran in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

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 Athleti ...

, 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 athlete from Kenya, who won the silver medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1972 Summer Olympics, behind teammate Kipchoge Keino. Jipcho won the 5000 metres ra ...

, 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 histo ...

race. He took the World's Best 10K title at the 2010 race in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, 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 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 FBK Games is an annual track and field event at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1981. Its name honours Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four gold me ...

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

and the World's Best 10K, 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 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 - 3:42.1 min (2005) * 3,000 metres - 7:44.75 min (2009) *

5,000 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 stand ...

- 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 of 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