Edith Chewanjel Masai (born 4 April 1967) is a

Kenyan The Demographics of Kenya is monitored by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya is a multi-ethnic state in East Africa. Its total population was at 47,558,296 as of the 2019 census. A national census was conducted in 1999, although t ...

former

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 specialised in cross country and track races, then

road races Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily closed public ...

in her late career. She represented Kenya at the

2004 Summer 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 ...

. Her best achievements are three individual gold medals in the short race at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

between 2002 and 2004. She is also known for reaching global top at the age of 35. On the track she was the bronze medallist over

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 ...

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 ...

and was the 2006 African Champion over

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 ...

. She has also won silver medals over 10,000 m at the

2007 All-Africa Games The 9th All-Africa Games (; ), also known as Algiers 2007 (), took place from 11 to 23 July 2007 in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Algiers became the first city to hold All-Africa Games for a second time. The 1978 All-Africa Games were a ...

and 5000 m at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

. Her track best of 8:23.23 minutes for the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

, set in 2002, remains the African record for the event. Over 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 ...

distance, she ran her career best of 2:27:06 hours to win the 2005

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 ...

Career

Early life

Masai was born in Chepkoya village,

Mount Elgon District Mount Elgon District (Mt. Elgon District) was an districts of Kenya, administrative district in the Western Province (Kenya), Western Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kapsokwony. In 2010, it was merged into Bungoma County. Geography and de ...

. She is the third born from a family of four. She competed during her high school days while at Kibuk Secondary School. She graduated in 1988. She joined Kenya Prisons Service in 1990, known for recruiting many talented athletes. Masai did not, however, achieve anything until 1999, when she became the national cross-country champion, at the age of 32. Consequently, she started training more seriously. She won the Lotto Cross Cup Brussels in 2001 and went on to take bronze in the short race at the

World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

that year. She improved upon this the following year, taking the gold at the

2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 23/24, 2002. The races were held at the Leopardstown Racecourse, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, near Dublin, Ireland. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', ...

International career

Masai holds the 3000 metres African record set in July 2002 in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

She won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships. In 2004, she failed at the Kenyan trials for the Olympics, but since she was one of only three Kenyans who had beaten the Olympic "A"-qualifying time in women's 5000 metres that year, she was offered a place on the team. Masai herself initially rejected the offer, but joined the team after lengthy negotiations. At the Olympics she dropped out after suffering a hamstring injury. She made her

debut at the age of 38, but gave a confident first performance, clocking 2:27:06 to win the 2005

. She finished fifth at the 10,000 metres race at the 2005 World Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Her time, 30:30.26 was a new Kenyan record.Thefinalsprint.com, 22 July 2007
Splendid World Masters 10,000m Record for Masai
The record was beaten by

Linet Masai Linet Chepkwemoi Masai (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won her first world title in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletic ...

at the 2008 Olympics, who run 30:26.50. Masai has since been shifting from track running to marathon. She won

in 2005 and participated it also in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, she won Berlin Half Marathon, setting the fastest half marathon run that year, 1:07:16 minutes. It was also a personal best and a course record. She also set a new 5000 metres Kenyan record of 14:33.84 minutes. She won 10,000 metres silver medal at the

. Her time, 31:31.18 is a new World record for women over 40 years old. The previous record was held by

Nicole Lévêque Nicole Lévêque (born January 27, 1951, in Nuillé-sur-Vicoin, France) is a French long-distance runner and marathoner. She began her International career in her mid-40s, representing her native country in the 1994 European Athletics Championships ...

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 ...

, who run 32:12.07 in Helsinki in 1994. Masai participated the 2008 World championships marathon 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 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, finishing 8th in a race won by her compatriot

Catherine Ndereba Catherine Nyambura Ndereba (born 21 July 1972) is a retired Kenyan marathon runner. Between 2003 and 2008, she finished in the top two in five successive global championship marathons. Ndereba has twice won the marathon at the World Championshi ...

. Masai won the 2008 Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. She won Singapore Marathon in December 2008.Xinhua News Agency, 7 December 2008
Kenyan runners rule Singapore Marathon
she broke up with her agent Dorothee Paulmann. in 2007 and worked independently. She currently lives in Ngong and Kitale. She coaches the Kenya Prisons Cross Country team. She is a divorced mother of one, her son Paul Griffin Sakit born in 1992 who ran for Louisiana Tech University. Masai retired from competitive running in early 2010 because of a knee injury.

Major competition record

Personal Best

References

External links

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IAAF Focus on Athletes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masai, Edith 1967 births Living people People from Mount Elgon District Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners Olympic athletes for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners World record holders in masters athletics Kenyan masters athletes Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Kenya Commonwealth Games athletes for Kenya African Games silver medalists for Kenya African Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Kenyan female cross country runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics