Ronald Kipchumba Rutto (born 8 October 1987 in

Marakwet :''Marakwet is also a district in Kenya, see Marakwet District'' The Marakwet are one of the groups forming the ethnolinguistic Kalenjin community of Kenya, they speak the Markweta language. The Marakwet live in five territorial sections namely A ...

) is a Kenyan long-distance runner.

Biography

Rutto initially began his career in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

as a

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

r. He won the

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 ...

in the 2000 m steeplechase at the

IAAF World Youth Championships The IAAF U18 Championships in Athletics (until 2015 known as IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics) was a global athletics event comprising track and field events for competitors who were 17 or younger (youth = Under-18). The event was orga ...

and set a world youth best time of 5:30.27, overhauling Soviet runner Mykola Matyushenko's record which had stood unbettered for almost two decades. Rutto demonstrated his ability further with another record run of 5:27.64 in the event two months later in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. He ran in the junior race at the

2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 20/21, 2004. The races were held at the Ossegem Park in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', and for the IAAF. ...

and finished in seventh place, forming part of the winning Kenyan junior team. He returned to steeplechasing on the track later that season and built upon his youth title with a win at the

2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Grosseto, Italy on 12–18 July. Results Men Women Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, 1261 athletes from 168 count ...

, where he achieved a personal best of 8:23.32 for the 3000 m steeplechase. He defeated

Musa Amer Obaid Musa Amer Obaid (; born April 18, 1985, in Kenya) is a middle distance track event, middle distance runner mainly competing in steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase. He was born Moses Kipkirui, but represents Qatar after changing nationalit ...

with a sprint to the line to continue Kenya's undefeated streak in the competition. Rutto was third in the steeplechase at the 2005

Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix The Doha Diamond League is an annual one-day track and field meeting held at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is part of the Diamond League – the top level international circuit for the sport. It is typically held in May as the ...

and went on to beat

Tariku Bekele Tariku Bekele Beyecha (Amharic: ታሪኩ በቀለ; born 28 February 1987) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5,000 metres and has moved up to 10.000 metres as well. He is the younger brother of Kenenis ...

at the

Oeiras International Cross Country The Oeiras International Cross Country (''Portuguese: Crosse Internacional de Oeiras'') is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Oeiras, Portugal. Established in 2000, it is usually held in mid-November and is traditional ...

later that year, taking his first win on the senior cross country circuit. He returned to the Oeiras meet in 2006 but managed only eighth place. He continued running in the steeplechase, and also in the

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 3000 m sho ...

flat, over the next four years but he saw little improvement upon the times set during his junior career. His senior career had effectively stalled. After missing the 2009 season, he re-emerged as a

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

athlete and made his

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 ...

debut in October 2010 at the

Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...

. The change of event proved a good one, as he finished in seventh place in a time of 2:09:17, just ahead of Elijah Keitanywho was runner-up at the

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon, currently branded as TCS Amsterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road running, road race has a IAAF Road Race Label Events, Platinum Label from World Athle ...

the previous year.Edwards, Andy (2010-10-31)
Fast Kenyan double in Frankfurt; 2:04:57 and 2:23:25

IAAF 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 ...

. Retrieved on 2010-10-31. He failed a drugs test for

erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production ( erythropoiesis) in th ...

(EPO) in 2012 and was banned for two years.List of athletes currently serving a period of ineligibility as a result of an anti-doping rule violation under IAAF Rules
IAAF (May 2012). Retrieved on 2012-08-25.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutto, Ronald Kipchumba 1987 births Living people Athletes from Elgeyo-Marakwet County Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male steeplechase runners Kenyan male marathon runners Kenyan male cross country runners Doping cases in athletics Kenyan sportspeople in doping cases 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen