Eliud Kiptanui (born 6 June 1989) is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in 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 won the 2010

Prague International Marathon The Prague Marathon (also known as Prague International Marathon) is an annual road running, road marathon held in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic each May. It was founded in 1995 and has grown to become a significant event, being a ...

and has a personal best of 2:05:21 hours. He represented his country 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 ...

Biography

Kiptanui was born and raised in Kaplelach,

Uasin Gishu District Uasin Gishu District, also known as Eldoret District, was one of the districts of Kenya, located in the Rift Valley Province. The town of Eldoret was its capital, administrative and commercial centre. It bordered the Trans-Nzoia District. The d ...

. He was the first child in a family of six and, like many Kenyans, he studied up to secondary school level. Kiptanui began to take running seriously after leaving school at 16, using the prize money to help pay for his sibling's education. He was encouraged by his performance in a 15 km race in Kenya in 2008, noting that although he finished in ninth place, all those who finished ahead of him were elite runners. Kiptanui travelled to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in July 2009 to compete in 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 ...

at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislett ...

, where he finished in fifth position. However, it was a performance in his native Kenya which attracted the attention of

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 ...

manager Volker Wagner. Kiptanui won the Safaricom Marathon in

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...

in December of that year with a time of 2:12:17 hours, outrunning the second-place finisher by a margin of over seven minutes. Kiptanui intended to make his European marathon debut at the

Vienna 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 ...

in April 2010, but his travel schedule was disrupted by the Eyjafjallajökull eruption and he instead settled for the

Prague Marathon The Prague Marathon (also known as Prague International Marathon) is an annual road marathon held in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic each May. It was founded in 1995 and has grown to become a significant event, being awarded IAAF G ...

three weeks later as an alternative. He methodically paced himself in the race, first overtaking Denis Ndiso and then the race favourite

Yemane Tsegay Yemane Adhane Tsegay (born 8 April 1985) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He won the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon with a personal best time of 2:04:48 hours. He has also won marathons in Eindhoven, Gyeongju, Ma ...

. Kiptanui completed the second half of the race faster than the first and was rewarded with a new personal best time and course record of 2:05:39, raising him into the top twenty fastest ever marathon runners in only his second race over the distance. This was in spite of the fact that the Prague course is not a fast one, as it covers several kilometres of

cobblestones Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct from a ...

. Kiptanui pledged to use the

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

75,000 prize money to help his brothers and sisters attend school in Kenya. He was touted as a possible winner at the 2010

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 ...

, but he ended the race in fifth place with a time of 2:08:05 while compatriot

Patrick Makau Patrick Makau Musyoki (born 2 March 1985) is a runner from Kenya. He is a former world record holder in the marathon—His time of 2:03:38, run at the 2011 Berlin Marathon, was the world record for two years, until it was beaten by Wilson Kipsa ...

took the honours. His first race of 2011 was the

Rotterdam Marathon The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes. ...

and came fifth, some minutes off the winner Wilson Chebet. He was chosen to compete for Kenya at the

. He was among the leaders at the 25 km mark, but gradually fell behind after 30 km and finished the race in sixth place. He ran the second best time of his career at the 2012

Seoul International Marathon The Seoul International Marathon (), also known as The Dong-A Ilbo Seoul Marathon or Seoul Marathon, is an annual marathon race that takes place in Seoul, South Korea. It is hosted by the newspaper ''The Dong-A Ilbo''. It is one of two annual ra ...

, taking third place in a Kenyan podium sweep with a time of 2:06:44 hours. In his two other outings that year he came eighth at the

2012 Berlin Marathon The 2012 Berlin Marathon was the 39th edition of the annual marathon event and was held on Sunday 30 September on the streets of Berlin, Germany. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the third World Marathon Majors event to be held that year. Geoff ...

then second at the

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 ...

Achievements

*All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiptanui, Eliud 1989 births Living people Athletes from Uasin Gishu County Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners 20th-century Kenyan sportsmen 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen