Beatrice Omwanza (born 24 February 1974) is a Kenyan

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 ...

who competes in

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 ...

and

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 shortcu ...

races. She represented Kenya in the marathon at 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 ...

in 2003 and 2005. Her personal best for the event is 2:27:19 hours. The biggest achievement of her career is a win at the

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon () is an annual marathon (sport), marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the largest running event in France in terms of finishers and is typically among the five largest marathons in the world. The marathon begi ...

in 2003. She has also won the

Turin Marathon The Turin Marathon () is an annual marathon race which takes place in Turin, Italy in November. History The first edition of the modern race was held in 1987, although other marathon competitions have been held in the city prior to this, includin ...

and

Reims Marathon Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by t ...

. Over the half marathon distance, she has competed extensively in France and has won at the Paderborner Osterlauf, Great Scottish Run, and Bredase Singelloop.

Career

In her earlier career, she was a

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, ...

runner and was the Kenyan champion in the event in 1998. That same year, she ran in the short race at the

1998 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1998 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 21/22, 1998. The races were held at the Menara district in Marrakech, Morocco. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in the Herald, and for the IAAF. ...

and finished sixth, helping Kenya to fourth in the rankings. However, it was on the

roads A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

that she established herself as a top class runne. She won the 1995 edition of the Saint Pol-Morlaix Half Marathon, ran the fastest ever half marathon in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

in 1997, and was the 1998 winner of the Foulée Suresnoise 10K. In 2001, she won the

Boulogne-Billancourt Half Marathon The Boulogne-Billancourt Half Marathon () is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance which takes place in November in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. The event was first organised in 1997 by the Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billanc ...

and also had her second victory at the Saint Pol-Morlaix.Omwanza Beatrice
Marathon Info. Retrieved on 2011-06-16. Back-to-back wins came at the Alençon-Médavy in 2001 and 2002. Omwanza made a number of podium finishes in major races in 2002: she had runner-up placings at the

Paris Half Marathon Paris Half Marathon (''French language, French: Semi-marathon de Paris''), known as the Harmonie Mutuelle Semi de Paris for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon held every March in Paris, France since 1993. Kenya's Stanley Biwott i ...

, Humarathon and

Lille Half Marathon The Lille Métropole Half Marathon ( French: ''Semi-Marathon de Lille Métropole'') is an annual half marathon foot race which takes place in Lille, France, in early September. First organised by the Association de Promotion des Événements Lil ...

, and managed third at the

Nice Half Marathon The Nice Half Marathon () is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance (21.1 km) held in April in the city of Nice, France. It is organised by the Azur Sport Organisation, who hold several races in the region, includ ...

and Semi-Marathon Marvejols-Mende. She made her debut over the full marathon distance that year and came second to Lucy Karimi at the

, finishing the 42.195 km distance in a time of 2:35:36 hours. A year later, in only her second outing in the event, she improved her best by nearly eight minutes to win the

in 2:27:44 hours, defeating

Rosaria Console Rosaria Console, better known as Rosalba (born 17 December 1979 in Martina Franca, Taranto) is an Italian long-distance runner who specializes in the half marathon and marathon. Biography She won four medals, one of these at junior level, at the ...

in a

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

finish. She was selected to represent Kenya in the women's 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 ...

, but she did not manage to finish the race as she dropped out after 25 km. Omwanza went on to win the

in October that year, although her winning time of 2:32:02 was somewhat slower than her Paris run. Luminita TALPOS Tomo MORIMOTO Beatrice OMWANZA Vienna-City-Marathon2008

Luminita TALPOS Tomo MORIMOTO Beatrice OMWANZA Vienna-City-Marathon2008

The Kenyan made four appearances in the marathon in 2004. Her first race at the

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

saw her off form, as she finished eighth, but she improved to take third place at the Ruhrmarathon in April. Omwanza achieved a career best time for the distance 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 ...

in September: she crossed the line in 2:27:19 hours for fourth place, although the winner

Yoko Shibui is a long-distance runner from Japan, who is competing in the 5000 and 10,000 metres as well as the marathon race. She holds the Japanese record over 10,000 m with her best time of 30:48.89 minutes. Shibui is one of only a handful of wom ...

was far ahead of her as she became the fifth woman under 2:20:00 hours. She ended the year with a win at the

Great Scottish Run The Great Scottish Run is a series of mass-participation road running events, held annually in the streets of Glasgow, Scotland, in October. The event began as a full marathon in 1979, but later changed to a weekend of shorter events. The weeke ...

in Glasgow and a fifth place at the

Nairobi Marathon The Nairobi Marathon is an annual road running competition over the marathon distance usually held in October in Nairobi, Kenya. First held in 2003, the competition expanded and now includes a half marathon race along with the main race. It was ...

. Omwanza began her 2005 season with a win at the Paderborner Osterlauf, then a half marathon personal best of 1:11:18 hours for third 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 c ...

.Wilson, Alex & Gasparovic, Juraj (2011-04-26)
Paderborner Osterlauf Half Marathon
ARRS. Retrieved on 2011-06-17. She won the third marathon of her career later that April, beating

Alevtina Biktimirova Alevtina Biktimirova (born September 10, 1982) is a Russian Long-distance track event, long-distance Running, runner, who specialises in the marathon. Biography Alevtina placed first in the women's division in the Eurocity Frankfurt Marathon in ...

and

Rita Jeptoo Rita Jeptoo (born 15 February 1981) is a Kenyan marathon runner. Along with winning the Boston Marathon on two occasions, she has also won marathons in Chicago, Stockholm, and Milan. Jeptoo. Jeptoo was the bronze medalist at the 2006 IAAF Wo ...

to the women's title at the

. She was again selected to compete for Kenya in the marathon at the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics (, ), under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first ...

and ended the race in 29th place. A sixth-place finish at the

Tokyo Marathon The is an annual marathon sporting event in Tokyo, Japan. It is a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon and one of the seven World Marathon Majors. The latest edition of the race took place on . It is sponsored by Tokyo Metro. History The fi ...

brought her year to a close. She ran two marathons in 2006, taking third place on the podium at both the Nairobi and

Madrid Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon () is an annual marathon race which takes place in Madrid, Spain, in late April. The event was first held in 1978 and has since gained IAAF Gold Label Road Race status and had over 15,000 runners participate in t ...

. A season's best in the half marathon came at the Berlin race, where her time of 1:11.35 was enough for fourth. She was third at the

Marrakech Marathon The Marrakech Marathon is an annual marathon held in Marrakech, Morocco. Roughly 5000 runners turn out for the event annually. At the inaugural edition of the race in 1987 French runner Jacques Boxberger won the men's race while the women's race ...

and second at the Paderborner competition that year. In 2007, she claimed third place at the

Hamburg Marathon The Hamburg Marathon () is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of held in Hamburg, Germany. In 2009, 13,938 participants were counted. The marathon is categorized as a IAAF Road Race Label Events, Gold Label Road Race by World A ...

with a run of 2:30:46 hours and also won the Paderborner Half Marathon and Nacht von Borgholzhausen 5-mile races. Her last season of competition was 2008: she had podium finishes at the

Vienna City Marathon The Vienna City Marathon is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195 km held in Vienna, Austria since 1984. History The first edition was held on with a total of 794 competitors. It is Austria's largest road running event ...

and Marathon De La Rochelle in France. She also ran at the Berlin Half Marathon, coming sixth, and was third at the 20 van Alphen. In October, she won the Bredase Singelloop.van Hemert, Wim (2010-10-04)
Bredase Singelloop Half Marathon
ARRS. Retrieved on 2011-06-17.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omwanza, Beatrice Living people 1974 births Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female steeplechase runners Paris Marathon female winners Kenyan female cross country runners