Bat-Ochiryn "Ziggy" Ser-Od (, born 7 October 1981 in Gobi-Altai province) is a Mongolian

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 ...

, particularly the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. He represented his country in the marathon at six

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, in 2004, 2008, 2012 (where he also was flagbearer), 2016, 2021 and 2024. A member of the Morpeth Harriers running club, he divides his time between his native country and

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

in England. Ser-od began his international career in 2002 and has competed in the marathon at ten consecutive editions of the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

since 2003. His best performance is 20th at the 2011 World Championships. He is Mongolia's first ever elite level marathon runner and his personal best of 2:08:50 is the Mongolian national record. He was the 2013 Asian Marathon Champion and also won the Brighton Marathon and Hofu Yomiuri Marathon in 2010. Other career highlights include top ten finishes at the

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , including elite level road r ...

and

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

Career

Early competition

Ser-Od began participating in long-distance events in 2002.Morpeth Harrier Serod Batochir really is a long distance athletics star
. ''The Journal'' (25 April 2010). Retrieved on 26 April 2011. He made his international debut at the

2002 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 11th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on May 5, 2002 in the city of Brussels, Belgium. A total of 198 athletes, 123 men and 75 women, from 60 countries took part. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were ...

and stepped up a distance to the marathon at the

2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the streets of Paris and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, F ...

, where he came 63rd with a personal best of 2:26:39 hours.Bat-Ochir, Ser-Od

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 26 April 2011. He was twelfth at the 2004

Hong Kong Marathon The Hong Kong Marathon (), sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, is an annual marathon race held in January or February in Hong Kong. In addition to the full marathon, a 10 km run and a half marathon are also held. Around 70,000 runners t ...

, the third Asian to finish in a largely African field. He made his Olympic debut that year at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. He was just one of two Mongolians to compete in the

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

competition, alongside women's marathoner

Luvsanlkhündegiin Otgonbayar Luvsanlkhündegiin Otgonbayar, (; born July 13, 1982) is a Mongolian athlete. She has represented her country by running the marathon at competitions such as the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's marathon, 2004 Summer Olympics, t ...

. Ser-Od came 75th overall with a time of 2:33:24 hours, some twenty minutes behind the winner. He ran his 2005 season's best in Ulaanbaatar in June before the 2005 World Championships, where he improved upon his previous placing by coming in 61st. He set a half marathon best of 1:08:12 in October, representing his country at the

2005 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 14th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships were held in Edmonton, Canada on 1 October 2005. The competition was replaced by the World Road Running Championships in 2006 and 2007, but revived as IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2008. ...

. With no world-level marathon events scheduled in 2006, he focused on Asian competition. He showed significant improvement at the Asian Marathon Championship, incorporated into that year's

Beijing Marathon The Beijing Marathon () is an annual marathon race held around October in Beijing, People's Republic of China, since 1981. The race begins at Tiananmen Square and finishes in Celebration Square in Olympic Green. The full marathon is the only ...

, as he was the sixth best Asian and knocked over six minutes off his best time, recording 2:20:13 hours. He did not perform as well at the

2006 Asian Games The 2006 Asian Games (), officially known as the XV Asiad or 15th Asian Games (, and commonly known as Doha 2006 (), were an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the ga ...

, however, as he came seventeenth in the Games marathon. He remained in East Asia in 2007, coming 55th at the 2007 World Championships in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

before making another large improvement at the Beijing Marathon, where he completed the distance in a time of 2:16:22 hours.

2008–2009: National records and move to Gateshead

He lined up for the Asian Marathon Championship race at the 2008 Hong Kong Marathon and demonstrated his progression by coming runner-up in the Asian category behind race winner Koichiro Fukuoka and taking fifth place in the international field. At the Good Luck Beijing Marathon, a test event for 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 ...

, he cut two more minutes off his best to defeat all opposition and win the race in a Mongolian record time of 2:14:15 hours. He did not repeat this form at the Olympic marathon race in August, but his time and placing (52nd in 2:24:19) were his best performances yet on the international stage. His final race of the year came at December's Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, but his fast starting pace saw him drift back into sixth by the finish. His training in Mongolia was interrupted by the cold winter and, in April 2009, he travelled to

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to visit family. While there he came to an agreement with Morpeth Harriers, a local

running club A running club, is an eclectic institution specialising in running and oriented towards the sport and recreation of running or track and field. The club may train for and compete in cross country, road running, fell running, track and field som ...

, to begin training with them. Ser-Od trained on a

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

for the first time at the

Gateshead International Stadium Gateshead International Stadium (GIS) is a multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose, all-seater venue in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally known as the Gateshead Youth Stadium, the venue was built in 1955 at a cost of £30,000. It has si ...

and said that the area's 10 km competitions were of particular benefit, given the rarity of races over that distance in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

.McGuirk, Bill (29 April 2010)
Serod Batochir coasts to glory in Brighton
. ''

Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to in print as ''The Chronicle'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Evening Chronic ...

''. Retrieved on 26 April 2011. Reflecting on the change, he said: "To train n Mongoliayou have to wear too many clothes, maybe four layers. Running is really hard then. In England it is different." He ran in a series of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

races from April to August, building towards the upcoming 2009 World Championships in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He won 10K races in North Shields, Newton Aycliffe and Morpeth, as well as placing top three in half marathons in Redcar and Mansfield. A 10K best of 30:08 minutes came at Gateshead's

Great North 10K The Great North 10K, styled as the Simplyhealth Great North 10K for sponsorship purposes, is a 10K run, 10K road running, road run, which has been called "the North East's biggest 10K running event", with over 5,000 people taking part. It is part o ...

, where he was seventh.Serod Batochir
Power of 10. Retrieved on 27 April 2011. The change of location resulted in a rise in the rankings in the World Championships Marathon in Berlin, as he finished in the top thirty for the first time, completing the course in 2:17:22 hours. He was selected to run on the track at the

2009 Asian Athletics Championships The 18th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, China in 2009. Results Men Track Field Women Track Field Medal table Participating nations * (12) * (1) * (1) * (77) * (22) * ...

and he came twelfth in the

5000 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 sta ...

(14:47.01 minutes) and set a track best of 29:43.79 minutes for ninth place 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 ...

. His best marathon time of the year came at the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, where he was the best non-Japanese, finishing seventh in 2:17:19 hours.

2010–2011: London and Berlin Marathons

He was highly active in the marathon in 2010: he was third at the

in February, and came fifth at the Zhengzhou Marathon with a time of 2:17:01 hours in March. He was initially invited to the

2010 London Marathon The 2010 London Marathon was the 30th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 25 April. The elite men's race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede in a time of 2:05:19 hours and the elite women's r ...

in April, but the organisers rescinded their invitation upon discovering he had run the full distance just three weeks before the event. Having already arrived in England, he sought out a place at the inaugural Brighton Marathon instead and won the competition by a five-minute margin. He received an invitation for the

2010 Berlin Marathon The 37th Berlin Marathon took place on Sunday 26 September 2010 on the streets of Berlin, Germany. The competition was sponsored by German retailer ''real,-'' and it was the third World Marathon Major of the year, as well as being an IAAF Gold Labe ...

and performed well in his first

World Marathon Majors The World Marathon Majors (WMM) sponsored by Abbott Laboratories is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on seven major marathon races recognised as the most high-profile o ...

event, finishing in tenth place with a time of 2:12:42 – a new national record. In his fifth outing over the distance that year, he won the Hofu Yomiuri Marathon, succeeding on his third attempt in a time of 2:14:49 (the third best performance of his career). Ser-od's 2011 season started at the Northern 12-Stage Road Relay, where he led off the Morpeth Harriers team which went on to take the title. The

2011 London Marathon The 2011 London Marathon was the 31st running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 17 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai in a course record time of 2:04:40 hours and ...

was his first major race of the year and he again had a top ten placing, taking ninth place in 2:11:35 hours to improve his best time a minute further. He finished in the top ten of both the 5000 m and 10,000 m at the

2011 Asian Athletics Championships The 19th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Kobe, Japan between July 7–10, 2011 at the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium. The tournament had 507 athletes from forty Asian nations competing in the 42 track and field events over the four- ...

, then went on to have his best global marathon finish at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

, finishing in 20th place. Two months later, he came sixth at the

. In 2011 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon in Japan he defended his title as winner running for 2:11:56 hours improving his time by 2 minutes and 53 seconds than the previous year.

2012 Olympic Games

He was runner-up in his first race of 2012 Beppu-Oita Marathon, setting a new best of 2:11:05 behind Harun Njoroge. He ran within the course record time at the Brighton Marathon, but finished fourth in a fast race. He represented his country at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London and finished in 51st position in the marathon. He was also selected as national flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Ser-Od ended the year with a win at the

Osaka Marathon The is an annual marathon road running event for elite and non-elite men and non-elite women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held in late October in the city of Osaka, Japan. There is also a "challenge run" with a dis ...

in a course record time of 2:11:52.

After 2012

His first outings of 2013 did not bode well: he was 18th at the Beppu-Oita Marathon, 15th at the Hong Kong Marathon, and eleventh at the Daegu Marathon. In spite of this, he performed reasonably well at the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013; ) was an international athletics (sport), athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10 to 18 August 2013. Initially, Russia at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Russia ...

, coming in 35th place. At the

2013 East Asian Games The 2013 East Asian Games, officially known as the VI East Asian Games, was an international multi-sport event that took place in Tianjin, China, between 6 October and 15 October 2013. 2,422 Athletes from nine East Asian nations competed in 254 eve ...

he was the silver medallist in the 5000 m. His best marathon outing followed later that month as he was second at the Osaka Marathon in 2:13:31 hours. A good result for Ser-Od came at the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

, where he placed 4th in the men's marathon, running the distance in 2:13:21. Just months later, Ser-Od built on his Asian Games success with his personal-best and national-record time of 2:08:50, at the Fukuoka Marathon in December 2014. Ser-Od participated in both the

2015 World Championships in Athletics The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...

held in Beijing and the

2017 World Championships in Athletics The 2017 IAAF World Championships, the sixteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 4 to 13 August at London Stadium in London, United Kingdom. London was officially awarded the championships on 11 November 2011. Bidding p ...

held in London, placing respectively 38th and 48th in the marathon events. Ser-Od participated in the

2019 World Championships in Athletics The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global sport of athletics, athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athleti ...

Doha, Qatar Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It is also Qatar's ...

where he finished 54th in 2:36:01 in the men's marathon. In 2020 he contested 1 marathon, placing 24th in 2:16:15 at the

Fukuoka Marathon The is an IAAF Gold Label international men's marathon race held in Fukuoka, Japan. It was previously known as the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship between 1947 and 2021, when it was announced the race would be discontinued on i ...

. On the track Ser-Od set Mongolian national records in both the 5000m and 10000m in 14:16.48 and 29:17.72 respectively. In 2021 Ser-Od ran The 76th

Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon The was a marathon race held in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. It was one of the prominent marathons in Japan. It was a male only competition and had IAAF Gold Label status.Nakamura, Ken (2010-03-07)Tsegay takes Lake Biwa crown IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03- ...

in Japan, where he finished 33rd in a time of 2:09:26. This was Ser-Od's third-fastest marathon performance and it qualified him for his 5th Olympic Games. Ser-Od Bat-Ochir competed in the men's marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in August 2021, where he did not finish, after battling an illness. In 2022 Ser-Od participated in the

2022 World Championships in Athletics The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the fi ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

. This was his tenth appearance in a marathon at a World Championship and he finished all these races.

Statistics

International competition

Personal bests

Source: * 5,000 m (track) – 14:12.86 NR (2021) * 10,000 m (track) – 29:17.72 NR (2020) * Half Marathon – 1:02:10 NR (2016) * Marathon – 2:08:50 NR (2014)

References

External links