Richard Kipkemei Limo (born 18 November 1980) is a Kenyan

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-dev ...

. He specializes in long distance track events. He won the

5000 m 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 stand ...

gold medal at the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...

. Limo was born in 1980 in

Cheptigit Cheptigit is a village near Kaptagat in the Uasin Gishu District Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Rift Valley Province. Eldoret has the county's largest population center as well as its administrative a ...

village,

Uasin Gishu District Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Rift Valley Province. Eldoret has the county's largest population center as well as its administrative and commercial center. “It lies between longitudes 34 degrees 50 ...

. After primary school he went to polytechnic and received a grade in electrical wiring in 1996. He did not start running, until 1997 when he joined a training camp located near his home. The next year he won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

at the junior race of

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 Int ...

. The same year he broke the world junior record at

3000 m The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

, by running in 7:36.76 minutes, but missed the World Junior Championships. He won the Cross Zornotza in 1999 and the

Trofeo Alasport The Trofeo Alasport, also known as the Cross di Alà dei Sardi, is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in March in Alà dei Sardi on the Italy, Italian island of Sardinia. Unusually for a high-profile cross country event, ...

cross country meeting in 2002. In 2001 he became world champion and was world's best performer of the year at 5000 metres with his time 12:56.72, which remains his personal record. Since 2004 Limo has not been much in the limelight, but has since switched to

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , 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 are also wheelchair di ...

racing. He won the Giro Media Blenio 10K in 2004. He was the runner-up in the 2007

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon (branded TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road race has a Platinum Label from World Athletics. During the event, there ar ...

, his debut where he consequently set a new personal best (2:06:45). He won his first marathon race in 2010, running a time of 2:09:56 for victory at the

Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race held in San Diego, California. Established in 1998, it is the original race in the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series. The event includes a half marathon.Cruz, Dan (2010-06-07) ...

. He slowed to a halt just before the finish line in celebration of his first win over the distance. He finished the 2011

Reims Marathon Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

in third place, finishing behind debutant Demessew Tsega. Richard Limo is married to Rose Tarus with two children, born in 2000 and 2002. He is 1.67 m tall and has a mass of 52 kg. He is not related to Benjamin Limo or Felix Limo, both also Kenyan runners.

Achievements

Marathons

*2007

- 2nd (PB 2:06:45) *2008

Rotterdam Marathon The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes. ...

- 4th *2008

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Races, World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago ...

- 10th *2009 Rotterdam Marathon - 9th

Personal bests

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') 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 Athle ...

- 3:37.59 min (1999) *

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

- 7:32.23 min (2001) *

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 ...

- 12:56.72 min (2001) *

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 ra ...

- 26:50.20 min (2002) *

3000 metres 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 ...

- 8:20.67 min (1998) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , 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 are also wheelchair di ...

- 2:06:45 (2007)

References

External links

*
Richard Limo: Young Kenyan on Top of the World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Limo, Richard 1980 births Living people People from Uasin Gishu County Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners Kenyan male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Kenya Kenyan male cross country runners World Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 All-Africa Games African Games competitors for Kenya