Peter Koech (born February 18, 1958) is a former

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 ...

from

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

who won a silver medal in the 3,000 meters

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

event at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. He held the world record in this event for over three years, running 8:05.35 in 1989. It was the first electronically timed world record for the event and is still in the top 25 performers in history. Koech competed for the Washington State Cougars track and field team, winning an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

title in the steeplechase. He is from Arwos,

Nandi District Nandi District was an administrative district in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kapsabet. Following the transfer of some of territory from Uganda to British East Africa, Nandi District was a subdivision of Kisumu Provinc ...

. He now lives in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

with his wife and three children. He continued to run in the Masters division, winning the

Boilermaker Road Race The Boilermaker Road Race is a USATF-certified 15K run, foot race and wheelchair racing, wheelchair race held annually in Utica, New York, Utica, New York (state), New York, United States. Although local recreational runners are the majority of ...

in 1998.

Achievements

References

External links

* 1958 births Living people Kenyan male middle-distance runners Kenyan male steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes from Nandi County Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Kenya Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Kenya Commonwealth Games athletes for Kenya African Games bronze medalists for Kenya African Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Kenyan male cross country runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 All-Africa Games Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Washington State Cougars men's track and field athletes NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century Kenyan sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics {{Kenya-athletics-bio-stub