Dickson Kiptolo Chumba (born 27 October 1986) 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 ...

races. He has won the

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

marathons and has a personal best of 2:04:32 for the distance.

Career

Born in Kenya's

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 ...

, Chumba worked as a gardener until he decided to focus on

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...

professionally. He began working with Claudio Berardelli in

Kapsabet Kapsabet is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of Nandi County and is located 40 kilometres southwest of Eldoret on the way to Chavakali. The name Kapsabet comes from "Kap"- 'belong to/area of' and "sabit" or "sobet" – 'live' and has come ...

in 2008. His first marathon outings came in 2010 and he was runner-up at both the

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 ...

and the Italian Marathon. His first win came in March 2011 when he ran a personal best of 2:08:45 hours to claim the

Rome City Marathon The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy. History The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the t ...

title ahead of defending champion

Siraj Gena Siraj Amda Gena, also known as Giday Amha and Siraj Amda Bene, (born 12 November 1984) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He won his first race in 2010, beating all-comers at the Rome City Marathon to set a person ...

. He was faster still at the

Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...

in October, running 2:07:23, although the close to world record pace meant he finished seventh. At the start of 2012 he had his third career runner-up finish at the Xiamen Marathon, having gradually fallen away from the winner Peter Kamais. Victory came at the

Eindhoven Marathon The Eindhoven Marathon ( Dutch: ''Marathon Eindhoven'') is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195km which is held in the city of Eindhoven, The Netherlands in October. It has been an annual race since 1990 – it was held bie ...

as he surged away in the second half of the race. Although he struggled in the final two kilometres he won by a margin of half a minute and set a new course record (and personal best) of 2:05:46. He started the 2013 Xiamen race quickly, but dropped out after an ill-timed surge to the front. He placed seventh at the

2013 Boston Marathon The 2013 Boston Marathon was the 117th running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States, which took place on April 15, 2013. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), it hosted the second of the World Marathon Majors to ...

and then came eighth at the

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon, currently branded as TCS Amsterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road running, road race has a IAAF Road Race Label Events, Platinum Label from World Athle ...

in October.Dickson Chumba
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-10-24. He won the 2014 Tokyo Marathon in 2:05:42, improving the course record by more than a minute. In October 2015 he won the 2015 Chicago Marathon in 2:09:25, in a brilliant tactical race, pulling away at 30 K in a

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 ...

race conducted without pace makers. In 2018 he won the Tokyo Marathon for the second time in 2:05:30, improving his personal best time for the distance.

Achievements

World Marathon Majors results timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chumba, Dickson Kiptolo Living people 1986 births Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners Athletes from Nandi County Chicago Marathon male winners Tokyo Marathon male winners 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen