Kenyan long-distance runner
Michael Kipkorir Kipyego
(born 2 October 1983) is a Kenyan runner who competes in
marathon
races. He was initially a specialist in the
3000 metres steeplechase
and was the 2002 World Junior Champion in the event. He represented Kenya in the steeplechase at the
World Championships
in 2003 and was runner-up at the 2008
African Championships
. He set a personal best of 8:08.48 in 2009.
He won two team titles with Kenya at the
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
? in the short race 2003 and the long race in 2007. Kipyego switched to
road running
in 2011 and ran a personal best of 2:06:48 hours for third at the
Eindhoven Marathon
. He won the
Tokyo Marathon
title in 2012.
Career
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Steeplechaser
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Born in Kemeloi in Kenya's
Marakwet District
, Kipyego was drawn to distance running by his older brother,
Christopher Kipyego
, who was a
marathon
runner. (Their younger sibling,
Sally Kipyego
, would also become a professional runner.) He began competing in the
3000 metres steeplechase
as a teenager, choosing the same specialist event as locally born world champion
Moses Kiptanui
. His first international selection for Kenya was the
1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics
, where he came eighth in the
3000 metres
flat. He joined
Colm O'Connell
's St. Patrick's school in
Iten
in 2000 and success followed shortly after: he was the
silver medallist
in the steeplechase at the
2001 African Junior Athletics Championships
behind
Ezekiel Kemboi
.
[1]
His breakthrough year came in 2002. After a good debut on grass at the
2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, where he was twelfth in the junior category, he had his first major victory at the
World Junior Championships
, winning the
gold medal
in the steeplechase. He moved up to senior level the year after and a fourth-place finish in the short race at the
2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
saw him help Kenya to the team title. He then went on to make the Kenyan team in the steeplechase, although he fell in the heats at the
2003 World Championships in Athletics
and was eliminated in the first stage. He did not perform well in 2004, missing spots on the Kenyan teams and suffering from a
tendon
injury.
[1]
He set a personal best of 8:10.66 minutes at the 2005
Golden Gala
meeting and was third in the Kenyan trials,
[2]
but was dropped from the international squad in favour of the in-form
Paul Kipsiele Koech
.
[1]
Kipyego's only major competition appearance of 2006 came at the
2006 IAAF World Athletics Final
and he narrowly finished out of the medals in fourth place. He gained selection for the long race at the
2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
and won his second career team title through his sixth-place finish.
[3]
He finished second to
Richard Mateelong
at both the national trials and the
African Championships
(his first podium finish in the event as a senior).
[4]
He dipped under 8:10 minutes at the
Weltklasse Zurich
meeting later that year, recording 8:09.05 minutes (making him the fifth fastest man that year) and taking third behind Koech and
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad
.
[5]
He ran at the
2008 IAAF World Athletics Final
in
Stuttgart
, but managed only eighth place.
[3]
In 2009 he did not gain an international spot for Kenya, but had some success on the European circuit, improving his personal best to 8:08.48 minutes in a runner-up performance at the
Herculis
meeting
[6]
and taking seventh at the
2009 IAAF World Athletics Final
.
[3]
Road running
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Kipyego ran in the steeplechase at the 2010
Doha Athletic Super Grand Prix
, but this proved to be one of his last outings in the event as he switched to focus his efforts on
road running
competitions instead. He made his debut over the
marathon
distance at the 2011
Rotterdam Marathon
and in spite of keeping up with the leaders early on he faded to sixth place with a time of 2:11:03 hours.
[7]
He ran the
half marathon
for the first time in September and completed the distance in 1:02:08 hours, taking eighth at the
Lille Half Marathon
.
[8]
His second marathon of the year demonstrated his talent for the event as he knocked off four minutes of his best time to take third place at the
Eindhoven Marathon
with a time of 2:06:48 hours.
[9]
He won his first race the following year at the
Tokyo Marathon
, where he surged ahead of
Haile Gebrselassie
in the late stages to win after 2:07:37 hours.
[10]
His only other outing that year was the
2012 Chicago Marathon
, where he was out of the running with a time of 2:10:02 for thirteenth place.
He attempted a defence of his Tokyo title, but finished behind
Dennis Kimetto
, although his time of 2:06:58 hours as runner-up was close to a personal best.
[11]
International competitions
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Personal bests
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References
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External links
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