Paul Bitok (born 26 June 1970 in Kilibwoni,

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afr ...

) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who won two silver medals at consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

(

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

) 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 ...

Life

Bitok emerged in 1992 as a relatively unknown athlete. He qualified for the Barcelona Games at the Kenyan trials and defeated several world class athletes 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 Bisl ...

in Oslo. By the time of the Olympics he had established himself as one of the favourites. He narrowly lost the final to

Dieter Baumann Dieter Baumann (, ; born 9 February 1965) is a former German athlete and winner of the 5000 m at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also won the silver medal in the same event (5000 m) at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1999 Baumann tested positive for na ...

of Germany. A few weeks later he won the 5000 m race in Zurich. In the following years Bitok did not match his performances of 1992. However, by 1996 he was back and won another silver in Atlanta. He also won two World Indoor silvers (

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

) in the 3000 metres behind

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champion ...

. He is married to Pauline Konga, who won the silver medal in women's 5000 metres at the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, becoming the first Kenyan female Olympic medalist.Post-Gazette, May 6, 2002
The Pathfinders
/ref>

References

External links

* 1970 births Living people People from Nandi County Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Olympic silver medalists for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games gold medalists in athletics {{Kenya-Olympic-medalist-stub