Wilfred Kipkemboi Bungei (born 24 July 1980) is a Kenyan retired

Middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

, who won the 800 m gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He also won at the World indoor Championships in Moscow 2006 the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( 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 an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

title, defeating

Mbulaeni Mulaudzi Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi (8 September 1980 – 24 October 2014) was a South African middle distance runner, and the 2009 world champion in the men's 800 metres. His first global medal was a silver at the 2000 African Championships in Athletics ...

and Olympic Champion

Yuriy Borzakovskiy Yuriy Mikhailovich Borzakovskiy (russian: Юрий Михайлович Борзаковский, , born 12 April 1981) is a Russian middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 metres. Early life Borzakovskiy was born at Kratovo, in the Mos ...

in the course of the race.

Career

Bungei was ranked No.1 in the world over 800 m in 2002 and 2003. He has a personal best of 1:42.34 minutes (Rieti 2002). At the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...

in Edmonton he won a silver medal over 800 m, finishing behind Andre Bucher. While in school, he focused on sprints and decathlon, before concentrating on 800 metres running.Daily Nation, January 23, 2011
Bungei, another jewel from the Kabirirsang factory
/ref> He graduated from Samoei High School in 1998. At the

1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 1998 edition of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Annecy, France from July 28 to August 2. Results Men 1 Ahmed Baday of Morocco originally won the bronze medal ...

he won a silver medal. Bungei represented his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Bungei is from Kabirirsang, a village near Kapsabet. Several of his relatives are runners, including his brother Sammy Kurgat, who won the 2008

Cologne Marathon The Cologne Marathon (Köln-Marathon) is an annual marathon held in Cologne, Germany. Since October 1997 the marathon has been held annually in early October, except for 2004, 2005 and 2014 when it was held in late September. History The inau ...

. He is a second cousin to Kenyan-born Danish former athlete Wilson Kipketer, while his mum is a cousin of

Henry Rono Henry Rono (born 12 February 1952, in Kapsabet) is a Kenyan retired track and field athlete who specialised in various long-distance running events. Although he never competed at the Olympics, Rono is remembered as one of the most prolific colle ...

. Bungei is based near

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

during track season. He is married to Priscah Bungei with two sons (as of 2008).The Standard, 28 September 2008
Olympic 800m champ Bungei, made Nandi warrior
/ref> He was part of the

4 x 800 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

team who currently holds the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

References

External links

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IAAF Focus on Athletes
1980 births Living people People from Nandi County Kenyan male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Olympic gold medalists for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics record holders (relay) World Athletics Championships medalists Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games {{Kenya-athletics-bio-stub