Michael Kipsugut Boit (born 6 January 1949) is a Kenyan former professional middle-distance athlete whose career spanned fifteen years. He is a professor at

Kenyatta University Kenyatta University (KU) is a public university with its main campus in Nairobi, Kenya. It acquired the status of university in 1985, being the third university after University of Nairobi (1970) and Moi University (1984). As of October 2014, it ...

in the Department of Exercise and Sports Science. He is an uncle to Philip Boit, who became the first Kenyan athlete to compete in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

Education

Boit graduated from St. Patrick's High School in

Iten Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya and serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county. International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) awarded the town with a plaque recognising Iten as a Wo ...

in 1969, a school well known for having produced such world class distance runners as Matthew Birir,

David Rudisha David Lekuta Rudisha, State Commendations of Kenya, MBS (born 17 December 1988) is a retired Kenyan Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who is the world and Olympic record holder in the 800 metres. Rudisha won gold medals in the 800 ...

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David ...

Japheth Kimutai Japheth Kimutai (born 20 December 1978 in Lelmokwo, Nandi District) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specialized in 800 metres. In 1998 he won the gold medal at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in a time of 1:43.82. In the same year ...

and many others. Boit received a Diploma from Kenyatta College (now Kenyatta University) in 1972, a bachelor's degree from

Eastern New Mexico University Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensi ...

in 1976, two master's degrees from

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

in 1977 and 1978, and a Doctoral of Education Degree from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1986. In 2014, Boit received an honorary Doctorate of Science (DSc) from the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in recognition of his contributions to the academic research of sports and its development in Kenya.

Teaching and Administration

Boit joined the

as a full-time faculty member in 1987. From 1990 to 1997, Boit took leave of his position at the University to work as the Kenya Commissioner of Sports; Boit returned to Kenyatta University in 1998. During the 1990s, Boit also stayed active in the athletics community as a member of the IAAF Athletes Commission from 1989 to 1999 and the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

from 1992 to 1995. In 2004, Boit and his friend John Manners, whom he met while in high school when Manners was in the Peace Corps, founde
KENSAP
The Kenya Scholar-Athlete Project. The Project helps bright students from under-served regions of Kenya gain admission to elite colleges in the United States. Boit and Manners have successfully placed more than 100 students in top American universities, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Duke, Wesleyan, Brown, Cornell, Amherst, Yale, Barnard, Carleton, Oberlin, Dartmouth, UPenn, Wellesley, Bates, Colby, Tufts, Middlebury, Brandeis, Williams and Hamilton.

Athletics career

Representing St. Patrick's – Iten, Boit won the Kenya national high school title in the 800 metres in 1969. He later went on to win the 800 metres bronze medal at the

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, in a race better known for the last-to-first comeback kick by US Olympian

Dave Wottle David James Wottle (born August 7, 1950) is an American retired middle-distance track athlete. He was the gold medalist in the 800 meter run at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and a world record holder in the 800 meters. In 1973, Wottle a ...

. Boit also earned a fourth-place finish in the 1500 metres behind fellow legendary Kenyan runner

Kipchoge Keino Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a long line of successful m ...

. A Kenya boycott of the

1976 Montreal Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal w ...

and

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

denied Boit a second chance for Olympic glory. Boit however remained one of the world's top middle distance runners throughout the 1970s winning the 800 metres silver medal at the

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games () were held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The event was officially named "the friendly games". T ...

and a silver medal at the 1977 World Cup of Athletics in a much anticipated face-off against the 1976 Olympic gold medalist

Alberto Juantorena Alberto Juantorena (born 3 December 1950) is a Cuban former runner. He is the only athlete to win both the 400 and 800 m Olympic titles, which he achieved in 1976. He was ranked as the world's best runner in the 400 m in 1974 and 1976–19 ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. He finished 2nd at the

1977 IAAF World Cup The 1st IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held from 2 to 4 September 1977, at the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Ove ...

800 metres race. Boit won the gold at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...

and a bronze in the 1500 metres at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

. He won the 1500 metres at the 1st African Championships in 1979. In Sebastian Coe's record breaking Summer of 81 Boit could often be seen at Coe's shoulder in 1500 metre and mile races, pushing him all the way to the line as the records tumbled. In 1983 Boit ran a downhill mile in 3:28.36, the then fastest mile in history.Molenberg Mile: The current record holder is Craig Wheeler 3.2
The Queen Street Golden Mile: The History
This did not count as the world record because of the course's downhill grade. Boit ended his athletic career in 1990 breaking the Masters Division Indoor World Record for the mile in Meadowlands,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boit, Mike 1949 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Kenyan male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Kenya Olympic bronze medalists for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Kenya Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Kenya Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Kenya Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes from Eldoret 20th-century Kenyan sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics