Kenneth Kiprop Kipkemoi (born 2 August 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes 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 ra ...

, the

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 shortcut ...

, and the marathon. He was the 2012 African champion in the 10,000 m, has a half marathon best of 59:11 minutes, and was the winner of the 2018

Rotterdam Marathon The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes ...

with a personal best of 2:05:44.

Career

Kipkemoi first began competing at road events in Kenya and ran a time of 62:59 minutes at the 2009 Nairobi Half Marathon.Kipkemoi Kenneth
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-07-02. He was chosen for the Kenyan team at the 2011 All-Africa Games and was the silver medallist in the half marathon behind

Lelisa Desisa Lelisa Desisa Benti (born 14 January 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. Desisa gained his first international medal at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships, where he took the 10,000 ...

, as well as fourth in the 10,000 m. That October, he came second at the

Valencia Half Marathon The Valencia Half Marathon ( es, Medio Maratón de Valencia) is an annual half marathon road running event held in Valencia, Spain, since 1988. It is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. The race is organised by the Valen ...

, improving his personal best to 59:47 minutes. He ran two half marathons in March 2012: he came in third at the CPC Loop with a best of 59:11 minutes but was less successful in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, coming in sixth. In June, he won the 10,000 m at both the national championships and the Kenyan Prison Championships; the latter performance guaranteed him conscription after his athletic duties. His first major victory followed at the

2012 African Championships in Athletics The 2012 African Championships in Athletics was held at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo, Benin from 27 June to 1 July 2012. It was the first time that Benin had hosted the event. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Participatin ...

, where he led a Kenyan medal sweep with a championship record time of 27:19.74 minutes. He ran two track bests after the event, having third-place finishes 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 med ...

5000 m (13:03.37 minutes) and the

Memorial Van Damme The Memorial Van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, that takes place in late August or early September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now the final event of the Diamond Le ...

10,000 m (26:52.65 minutes). He ran another sub-hour half marathon in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

in October, timing 59:46 minutes.Kenneth Kipkemoi
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-11-02. At the start of 2013, he attempted to gain selection for the

2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2013. The races were held at the Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Kenya topped the medal standings in the competition with 5 gold, and Ethiopia had the most overall ...

, but was twelfth in the Kenyan trials. Turning back to the roads, he came third at the World's Best 10K, then fourth 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 co ...

. A third-place finish at the Kenyan 10,000 m trials earned him a place at the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

, where he managed seventh position overall. After that, he was runner-up at the Valencia Half Marathon. In 2013, Kipkemoi ran his first marathon in Gaborone, Botswana in 2:17:41. In 2015 in Gongju, South Korea, he recorded a time of 2:12:08. In 2017, he competed again in Gongju, this time finishing with 2:09:43. At his European marathon debut on April 8, 2018, he won the

with a time of 2:05:44. In Rotterdam, he started as an underdog, but he beat the competition with a phenomenal last two kilometers.

References

* Some sources list Kipkemoi's birth date as 1994 (listing his half marathon time of 59:11 minutes as a world junior record), although Kipkemoi has stated his year of birth as 1984.Kenneth Kipkemoi
Vimeo. Retrieved on 2012-07-02.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kipkemoi, Kenneth Kiprop Living people 1984 births Kenyan male long-distance runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya African Games silver medalists for Kenya African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 All-Africa Games