Rhonex Kipruto (born 12 October 1999) is a Kenyan

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. Kipruto won the bronze medal in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

at the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global sport of athletics, athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athleti ...

and was the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder for the 10 km road race, until he was stripped of both titles in June 2024 due to “a deliberate and sophisticated doping regime”. Prior to his result being annulled, Kipruto placed third on the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

world all-time list. Kipruto was the 2018 World Under-20 10,000 m champion. On 17 May 2023, Kipruto was provisionally suspended by the

Athletics Integrity Unit The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is a Monaco-based organization founded by World Athletics in April 2017 to combat doping and address other forms of ethical misconduct in the sport of athletics. It operates independently from World Athletics ...

for the use of a prohibited substance/method from his

athlete biological passport An athlete biological passport is an individual electronic record for professional athletes, in which profiles of biological markers of doping and results of doping tests are collated over a period of time. Doping violations can be detected by n ...

(ABP) data. On 5 June 2024, the AIU announced that he had been banned for six years.

Career

Rhonex Kipruto's parents are farmers. He grew up in Kombatich and his coach is Colm O'Connell.

2017

In September, 17-year-old Kipruto finished third in the 10 kilometres road race at the

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Grand Prix with a time of 27:13. It was the first time in history that three men finished inside 27:20 in the same 10 km race.

2018

On 10 February, he placed second in the junior men's run at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships. The following month on 17 March, he participated in the African Cross Country Championships U20 race in Algeria. He won the 8 km run with a time of 25:01. Kipruto then won the UAE Healthy Kidney 10 km in New York City, U.S. on 29 April. While

Leonard Komon Leonard Patrick Komon (born 10 January 1988) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner and was the world record holder in the 10 kilometres. His 10K world record in 2010 with a time of 26:44 is a 17 seconds improvement on the previous bes ...

's (former 10K world record holder) 2011 course record was 27:35 Kipruto finished in 27:08, the fastest 10K on a record-eligible course on US soil. He went to the World U20 Championships held in

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, Finland in July. On 10 July, he won the

title with a time of 27:21.08, a new championship record.

Jacob Kiplimo Jacob Kiplimo (born 14 November 2000) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Kiplimo won a bronze medal in the 10,000 m events. Kiplimo won gold medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 ...

of Uganda (the 2017 U20 cross country world champion) placed second 22 seconds behind and

Berihu Aregawi Berihu Aregawi Teklehaimanot (; born 28 February 2001) is an Ethiopian Long-distance running, long-distance runner and the current world record holder in the 5K run, 5000 m road race and the 10K run, 10,000 m road race. At the Paris 2024 Olympics ...

of Ethiopia came in third with 27:48.41. On 8 September, Kipruto ran in his third 10K race the second-fastest time in history (behind the Leonard Komon's world record of 26:44 from 2010) with his winning time of 26:46 in

2019

Kipruto won the IAAF Cross Country Permit in

Elgoibar Elgoibar () is an industrial town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. Located in a valley, it is traversed by the Deba River, Deba river. El ...

on 13 January in a time of 32:05. In February, he placed sixth in the men's senior 10 km race at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships in

Eldoret Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya and lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about at the Eldoret International Air ...

, finishing 18 seconds behind Amos Kirui's winning time of 29:51. Kipruto then ran in the men's senior race at the

World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

held in March in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, Denmark. He finished sixth in a time of 32:17 out of 144 starters. The run was won by

Joshua Cheptegei Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (born 12 September 1996) is a Ugandan Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He is the current world record holder for the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres, and held the world best time over the 15K run, 15 kilomet ...

(Uganda) in 31:40 and Jacob Kiplimo placed second in 31:44. However, Kipruto won with Kenya the silver medal in the team ranking behind Uganda and ahead of Ethiopia. On 4 July, Kipruto won the 10 km

Peachtree Road Race The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is a series of two 10-kilometer runs held annually in Atlanta, once during the first weekend of January and the other on Independence Day. They are held on the sa ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, USA with a time of 27:01, breaking the previous course record and setting an all-comers' record (best performance on country's soil). The Association of Road Racing Statisticians describes this race as "Acceptable for ranking, no record quality...". The former course record was set in 1996 with a time of 27:04 by Joseph Kimani. Kipruto's brother Bravin Kiptoo placed second with a time of 27:29, and Kennedy Kimutai finished in third place with 27:54. At the Kenyan Championships on 21 August, Kipruto placed second in the 10,000 m in a time of 27:26.34. The race was won by

Geoffrey Kamworor Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor (born 22 November 1992) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. He won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. Kamworor claimed victories at the World Half Marathon Ch ...

in a time of 27:24.76. ;2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar On 6 October 2019, Kipruto raced the 10,000 m. The winner was

(Uganda) in 26:48.36, the runner up was

Yomif Kejelcha Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa (born 1 August 1997) is an Ethiopian distance runner. He formerly held world records in the short track mile (3:47.01 from 2019 to 2025) and the half marathon (57:30 from 2024 to 2025). Yomif won the silver medal in the 1 ...

(Ethiopia) in 26:49.34. Kipruto took the bronze medal with a time of 26:50.32.

2020–present

On 12 January 2020, Kipruto set a 10 km road race world record in Valencia with a time of 26:24. The former world record had been set by

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

on 1 December 2019 with 26:38.

Benard Kimeli Benard Kimeli (born 10 September 1995) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. Career In 2020, he competed in the men's race at the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships held in Gdynia, Poland. In 2017, he won the Singelloop Utrecht hel ...

(Kenya) came in second with 27:12 and Julien Wanders of Switzerland finished in third place in 27:13, a new European record. Kipruto covered the first half in 13:18 and the second one in 13:06. Wanders improved on his own European record by 12 seconds. At the postponed

2020 Tokyo 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 July 2021, he finished ninth in the 10,000 m final with a time of 27:52.78. In March 2022, Kipruto won the

New York City Half Marathon The New York City Half Marathon (branded as the United Airlines NYC Half) is an annual half marathon road running race from Brooklyn's Prospect Park to Manhattan's Central Park via the Manhattan Bridge, held since 2006. It passes through or ...

in a time of 1:00:30. In 2024, Kipruto was banned for six years for a "a deliberate and sophisticated doping regime". His race results since September 2018 have been disqualified.

Achievements

International competitions

Personal bests

Information taken from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

profile.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kipruto, Rhonex 1999 births Living people Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male steeplechase runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics U20 Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Kenya 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen