Martin Kiptolo Lel (born 29 October 1978) is a Kenyan professional long distance and

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 ...

runner. He won the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

in 2005, 2007, and 2008, the New York City Marathon in 2003 and 2007 and the

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the AJ Bell Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shie ...

in 2007 and 2009. His personal best time, , is 2:05:15, which he ran in the 2008 London Marathon setting a course record. Lel is coached by Claudio Berardelli and lives in the

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges produced by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear ...

region of Kenya. Lel ran his first marathons in 2002: he failed to finish at the Prague Marathon, but in his first finish he managed to claim second in the Venice Marathon. He won Lisbon Half Marathon in 2003, 2006 and 2009, was the comedy

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

ist at the 2003 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, and won the Portugal Half Marathon in 2005. He made his Olympic debut for Kenya at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and came fifth in the marathon. He beat Samuel Wanjiru to win the inaugural edition of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon in 2010. In August 2010, he ran at the Falmouth Road Race and took third place. After almost 3 years without running a marathon, he participated in the 2011 London Marathon as a replacement for Samuel Wanjiru, who was originally invited to run, but he still placed second with a time of 2:05:45, out-sprinting Patrick Makau at the finish line. He ran the 15K Saint Silvester Road Race at the end of the year, but was beaten into fourth place. Lel entered two races the year after: he was runner-up again at the 2012 London Marathon (finishing in 2:06:51) and was victorious at the Portugal Half Marathon with a time of 61:28 minutes.Lel and Jeptoo beat the heat in Lisbon - REPORT
IAAF (2012-09-30). Retrieved on 2013-01-27. In 2011, the American Charity, Shoe4Africa, funded and opened th

in Lel's home village, Kimn'geru, to honor the athlete. His brother, Cyprian Kimurgor Kotut, followed in his footsteps as a marathon runner and won the 2016 Paris Marathon.Kenya’s Cyprian Kotut wins Paris Marathon
''Daily Nation'' (2016-04-03). Retrieved on 2016-04-03.

Competition record

International competitions

Road races

References

External links

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n°37 on ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''’s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch" {{DEFAULTSORT:Lel, Martin 1978 births Living people Athletes from Nandi County Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Half Marathon Championships winners London Marathon male winners New York City Marathon male winners 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen