Timothy Cheruiyot (born 20 November 1995) is a Kenyan

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

specialising in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the event and the 11th fastest athlete all time over the distance. At the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations ...

, Cheruiyot won the silver medal in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and a gold in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

. He took the silver medal in his specialty event at the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

, and is also a two-time African Championship silver medallist from

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

. Cheruiyot won the 1500 m

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

title on four occasions: in

, and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Personal life and career

Cheruiyot is from the town of Singorwet, in

Bomet County Bomet County is located in the Rift Valley region of Kenya, was established in 2010 and had a population of approximately 875,689 � (2009 census) making it the 32nd largest county in Kenya by population. It is bordered by Kericho County to the we ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and lives on a farm with his family. Beginning in 2014, he began to train in the outskirts of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, via the Rongai Athletics Club, under Coach Bernard Ouma.

Early Career: 2015-2018

2015

Cheruiyot's first major milestone in his career was competing on Kenya's

Distance Medley Relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event ...

(DMR) team at the

2015 IAAF World Relays The 2015 IAAF World Relays was the second edition of the biennial, global track and field relay race (athletics), relay competition between nations. As in the previous year, it was held in May in Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau, The Bahamas, Bahamas. Apar ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

. Team Kenya's goal was to improve on their existing DMR world record of 9:15.56 set back in 2006, but the new world record ended up going to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in a time of 9:15.50, while Kenya finished second in a time of 9:17.20. Cheruiyot anchored this DMR (1600 m leg) against the United States'

Ben Blankenship Ben Blankenship (born December 15, 1988) is an American middle distance runner. He is a world record holder as a member of the 2015 USA Distance medley relay team, of which he ran the 1600-meter anchor leg. Running career Elementary school Bl ...

. Cheruiyot would have a rematch against Blankenship three weeks later at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic is a track and field meet held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, in the men's International Mile. Blankenship won in a time of 3:55.72, while Cheruiyot finished 3rd in a time of 3:55.80. Cheruiyot then switched attention to the 1500 m at the 2015 World Championships in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Here, he made it through the rounds and took 7th place in the final in a time of 3:36.05.

2016

In 2016, Cheruiyot won the 1500 m at the Rabat Diamond League, in a personal best time of 3:33.61. He also took a silver medal in the 1500m at the

African Championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between Africa, African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports club, sports clubs. List of championships ;Athletics * African ...

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

(3:39.71), and finished 2nd in the

Emsley Carr Mile The Emsley Carr Mile is an annual invitational athletics running event held in the United Kingdom over one mile for men. The race was won in 2024 by the Australian athlete Olli Hoare. History The race was inaugurated in 1953 by Sir William Ca ...

(3:53.17) at the Anniversary Games in

. However, despite his successes, Cheruiyot took 4th place in the 1500 m final at the Kenyan Olympic Trials and was therefore unable to represent Kenya at the

2016 Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. Although disappointed by not making Kenya's Olympic Team, Cheruiyot had another breakthrough by winning the 1500 m at the Brussels Diamond League, in a personal best time of 3:31.34.

2017: World Silver Medallist & First Diamond League Title

On 18 June, Cheruiyot won the 1500 m at the Stockholm Diamond League in a new personal best of 3:30.77. He followed it up by finishing second at the Kenyan World Championship Trials, qualifying him for the 2017 World Championships in

. On 21 July, Cheruiyot finished second at the Monaco Diamond League in 3:29.10, his first time under the 3:30-barrier. At the aforementioned

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, Cheruiyot won the silver medal, finishing behind compatriot

Elijah Manangoi Elijah Motonei Manangoi (born 5 January 1993) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner. He competed in the 1500 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing winning the silver medal and at the 2017 World Championships, where he won t ...

. In his final race of the season, Cheruiyot won at the Diamond League Final in a time of 3:33.93.

2018

At the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

held on the Gold Coast, Cheruiyot claimed the silver medal in the 1500 m. On 12 May, he won the

Shanghai Diamond League The Shanghai Diamond League is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, China, as part of the Diamond League. The meeting was founded as the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in 2005. The meet assumed its current name in 2010. Fro ...

in a time of 3:31.48. He continued his good form by winning the mile at the

in 3:49.87. He went on to win at the Monaco Diamond League on 20 July, running 3:28.41 - a time which would be the world lead for the 2018 season. Cheruiyot won at the Diamond League Final in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, in a time of 3:30.27. At the end of the season, Cheruiyot was nominated for World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year.

2019: World Champion

On 30 June, Cheruiyot won the mile at the

in 3:50.49. He also won over 1500 m at the Laussane and Monaco Diamond Leagues in 3:28.77 and 3:29.97, respectively. On 22 August, Cheruiyot won the 800 m at the Kenyan National Championships, in a time of 1:43.11, his first time under the 1:44-barrier. He then won over 1500 m at the Kenyan World Championship Trials on 13 September to secure his place at the

. At the

, Cheruiyot won gold in the 1500 m. In a "superb display of dominance", he won by 2.12 s, the largest winning margin in World Championship 1500 m history.

2020-2021: Covid Pandemic and Olympic Silver Medal

After the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

disrupted the 2020 season, Cheruiyot was forced to compete less frequently. He won the Kenyan race over 2000 m at the Impossible Games, beating

. However, he lost the overall race to "Team Ingebrigtsen" who were competing in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. He set the world lead for the 2020 season at the Monaco Diamond League, running 3:28.47. In 2021, Cheruiyot opened his season by winning the

Doha Diamond League 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 ...

in 3:30.48. He finished a shock fourth at the Kenyan Olympic Trials, failing to qualify for the Olympics. However, he was allowed to compete as second-placer Kamar Etyang was barred for participating due to not meeting anti-doping rules. He recovered from his upset to win at the Stockholm Diamond League in 3:32.40. He also picked up the win at the Monaco Diamond League, setting a new personal best of 3:28.28. At the

Tokyo Olympics Tokyo Olympics may refer to: * 1940 Summer Olympics, Games of the XII Olympiad, cancelled due to World War II * 1964 Summer Olympics, Games of the XVIII Olympiad * 2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an ...

, Cheruiyot won silver in the 1500 m. Cheruiyot led for the majority of the race, however was overtaken by

Jakob Ingebrigtsen Jakob Asserson Ingebrigtsen (born 19 September 2000) is a Norwegian Middle-distance running, middle- and Long-distance running, long-distance runner who is the world record holder in the short track 1500 metres, short track Mile run, mile, 2000 ...

on the final turn. He held off the fast-finishing Josh Kerr who took bronze. He ended his season by winning the Diamond League Final in

with a time of 3:31.27.

2022: Commonwealth silver medal

Cheruiyot began his 2022 season with a 2nd-placed finish at the

and a 3rd placed finished over the mile at the

. He finished second at the Kenyan World Championship Trials to qualify for the 2022 World Championships, where he finished sixth in a season's best of 3:30.69. At the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, Cheruiyot won the silver medal behind

Ollie Hoare Oliver 'Olli' Hoare (born 29 January 1997) is an Australian middle-distance runner who primarily competes in the 1500 metres. He notably won the 1500 m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in a Games record of 3:30.12. Career Early years Hoar ...

in a time of 3:30.21. He was unable to win his fifth successive Diamond League title as he finished second at the Diamond League Final on 8 September.

2023

Cheruiyot opened his 2023 season with a 3,000 m race at the

, finishing 5th in a time of 7:36.72. He returned to winning ways over 1500 m at the Los Angeles Grand Prix, running 3:31.47. On 15 June, Cheruiyot competed at the Oslo Diamond League, running a season's best of 3:29.08 to finish fourth. After winning the Kenyan World Championship Trials in a sprint finish, Cheruiyot was named in the team for the

. At the 2023 World Championships in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Cheruiyot was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1500 m. After the Championships, he revealed he had been struggling with a knee injury and would miss the rest of the season.

2024

On 10 May, Cheruiyot competed at the

, finishing second as part of a Kenyan 1-2-3 alongside Brian Komen and Reynold Cheruiyot, in a time of 3:32.67. At the Oslo Diamond League on 30 May, Cheruiyot finished second, being narrowly pipped on the line by a diving

, in a season's best of 3:29.77. At the Kenyan Olympic Trials, Cheruiyot finished third in the 1500 m to qualify for the Paris Olympics. In July, He once again finished second behind

at the Monaco Diamond League, running a season's best of 3:28.71. At the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Cheruiyot finished 11th in the 1500 m, having tried to go with the early pace he faded badly over the last lap. He recovered from his disappointment to win over 800 m at the Grand Prix Lombardia in

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

and finish second over 1500 m at the Diamond League Final in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In November, Cheruiyot expressed his desire to retire from the 1500 m after the 2025 World Championships in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, and transition to long-distance running and marathons.

Achievements

International competitions

Circuit performances

Diamond League wins and titles

National championships

Personal bests and World Rankings

Personal bests

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

– 1:43.11 (

2019) *

– 3:28.28 (

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

2021) *

One mile The mile run (1,760 yards, 5,280 feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field' ...

– 3:49.64 (

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

2017) *

2000 metres The 2000 metres or 2000-metre run is a track running event where five laps are completed around an outdoor 400 m track, or ten laps around a 200 m indoor track - the distance is 11.68 meters short of 1¼ miles. The global governing body World At ...

– 5:03.05 (Nairobi 2020) *

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 ...

– 7:36.72 (

2023) *

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 ...

– 13:47.2 (Nairobi 2020)

Progression

World Rankings

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheruiyot, Timothy 1995 births Living people Kenyan male middle-distance runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya Place of birth missing (living people) World Athletics Championships medalists Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships winners Diamond League winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Kenya Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Kenya Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics