Hillary Bor (born November 22, 1989) is a Kenyan-born American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. He qualified for the 2016 Olympics by finishing in second place in the

3000 meters steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ...

at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials.

Early career

Bor attended Arnesens High School south of Eldoret, where he ran a 9:15 steeplechase and was district champion in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

. He also ran a 3:55

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...

in high school. In 2007 he won a scholarship to

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

, where he placed fourth in the steeplechase at the 2008 NCAA Championships in 8:36.84 earning All-American status. He improved that to second place in 2009 and added an Academic All American status to another All American improving his personal best to 8:35.12. In 2010 he finished third at the NCAAs. His senior year earned him second team Academic All American.

Career

Bor's time of 8:30.70 in the steeplechase at the April 2016

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

Invitational was the world leading time at that point of the season. At the Olympic Trials, Bor was running in fifth place well behind Evan Jager's lead position. Another Kenyan-American, Stanley Kebenei was the closest to Jager but began to fade as Bor, Andy Bayer and Donn Cabral were chasing. The diminutive Bor made up over ten meters on the backstretch and had passed Cabral before the water jump. As he passed Bayer on the outside their two elbows made contact. On the outside, Bor was clean over the water jump and off to the races after Jager, on the inside Kebenei was unable to find his way out of the pit and fell onto all fours, causing Cabral to have to make an extra barrier jump over his body while Bayer sidestepped the fall but was losing ground chasing Bor. Bor's last lap was the fastest of the field. His time of 8:24.10 was a new personal best. After the race, the Nike Bowerman team filed a protest against Bor (the only non-Nike athlete in the final five) that was unsuccessful. This qualified him for the Olympics, where he finished 7th in the final. In 2017, he competed in the men's 3000 metres steeplechase at the

2017 World Athletics Championships 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, United Kingdom. Bor ran a new personal best of 8:08.41 minutes to finish second at the 2019 Doha Diamond League. He won the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2019 US Outdoor Championships to qualify for that year's

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, where he finished eighth in the final. In 2021, Bor won the US Olympic trials to qualify for the delayed

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

, where he finished sixth in his heat and did not progress to the final. Bor competed at the 2022 World Championships in

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, ...

in the

, finishing eighth in the final. In 2024, Bor broke the American Road 10 mile record with a time of 45:56 minutes at the USATF 10 Mile Championships.

Personal life

His older brothers Emmanuel and Julius Bor also ran for an American college, the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

. The brothers found a path to citizenship in the country of their education by joining the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. While serving on different bases, the three teamed up to win the All Armed Forces Cross Country Championships in February 2016. All three were in the top 20 of the

USA Cross Country Championships The USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, as ...

, Hillary finishing eighth.2016 USATF National XC Championships February 6, 2016, River's Edge Golf Course, Bend, OR Senior Men 10K Results
usatf.org

References

External links

U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program profile
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bor, Hillary 1989 births Living people American male steeplechase runners American military Olympians Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Iowa State Cyclones men's track and field athletes Kenyan emigrants to the United States Kenyan male steeplechase runners Olympic track and field athletes for the United States United States Army soldiers World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Iowa State Cyclones men's cross country runners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program Athletes from Eldoret 21st-century American sportsmen Diamond League winners 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen