Abel Kirui/ HANDOUT Double World Marathon champion Abel Kirui has turned his focus to nurturing the next generation of long-distance stars within the Administration Police Service (APS) after officially calling time on his glittering two-decade career.
The 43-year-old distance maestro, known for his relentless endurance and trademark smile, burst onto the marathon scene at the 2006 Berlin Marathon, where he clocked 2:17:47 for ninth place in his debut over the classic distance.
Kirui’s big breakthrough came three years later at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, where he demolished a strong field to clinch gold in a then-championship record of 2:06:54. He finished ahead of compatriot Emmanuel Mutai (2:07:48) and Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede (2:08:35).
He returned to defend his crown at the 2011 Daegu World Championships, becoming only the third man in history to win back-to-back world marathon titles, clocking 2:07:38. Vincent Kipruto settled for silver in 2:10:06, with Ethiopia’s Feyisa Lilesa third in 2:10:32.
Kirui further cemented his legacy at the 2012 London Olympics, powering to a silver medal in 2:08:27 behind Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich (2:08:01), elevating him to marathon royalty.
Now transitioning into a leadership role, Kirui has hung up his racing shoes after being promoted to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) with a new role as the Deputy Director of Sports and Chaplaincy in the APS.
"Recently, I was given the role of SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police) and to be in the office of Deputy Director of Sports and Chaplaincy, so it's more demanding for me there and I am needed more there."
"I am in the department of sports, so I will be supporting more athletes going forward," Kirui remarked. His main aim in his new role will be to nurture the next crop of distance runners in the uniformed forces. "We need to produce serious athletes in the service, and that will be my focus."
Despite his retirement, Kirui insists he still has gas left in the tank. "In my last race, I was ninth with minimal training. I could probably go on running for another 10 years. I have to value others and serve them the way I have served athletics for the last 20 years," he said. His last race was at the Cali Marathon in Colombia, where he clocked 2:21:56 for ninth place.
Evans Mayaka (2:11:04), Boniface Kimutai (2:11:27) and Namibia's Daniel Paulus (2:15:19) completed the podium in that race. Kirui noted that the conditions in Colombia were not favourable and he had only light training. "The conditions were humid, and I also had minimal training, but finishing within the top 10 was good."
Reflecting on his journey, Kirui was full of gratitude. “I want to thank my mother, my coaches, and all my supporters, especially the APS family, who have stood by me for the past 20 years. I have been surrounded by incredible people throughout.”
He singled out his double World titles, Olympic silver as the crown jewels of his career. "To be a double World champion, an Olympic silver medallist and also the first person in history to have run under 2:10 20 times," he noted. Having the spirit to keep pushing has kept him in the game for this long.
"I had the spirit to keep going. Sometimes, I would wake up tired and my body would not respond well, but I pushed myself to keep going."
Abel Kirui's marathon resume
2006
Berlin [September 24]— 9th (2:17:47)
Singapore [December 3] — 3rd (2:15:22)
2007
Wien [April 29] — 3rd (2:10:41)
Berlin [September 30] — 2nd (2:06:51)
2008
Dubai [January 18] — DNF
Tokyo [February 17] — DNF
Wien [April 27] — 1st (2:07:38)
2009
Rotterdam [April 5] — 3rd (2:05:04)
World Championships, Berlin [August 22] — 1st (2:06:54)
2010
London [April 25] — 5th (2:08:04)
New York [November 7] — 8th (2:13:01)
2011
World Championships, Daegu [September 4] — 1st (2:07:38)
2012
London [April 22] — 5th (2:07:56)
Olympics, London [August 12] — 2nd (2:08:27)
2014
Tokyo [February 23] — 10th (2:09:04)
Amsterdam [October 19] — 6th (2:09:45)
2015
Boston [April 20] — DNF
Amsterdam [October 18] — 10th (2:10:55)
2016
Tokyo [February 28] — 5th (2:08:06)
Chicago [October 9] — 1st (2:11:23)
2017
London [April 23] — 4th (2:07:45)
Chicago [October 8] — 2nd (2:09:48)
2018
London [April 22] — 4th (2:07:07)
Chicago [October 7] — 7th (2:07:52)
2019
Hamburg [April 28] — DNF
2020
Valencia [December 6] — 7th (2:05:05)
2021
Milano [May 16] — 10th (2:06:52)
Abu Dhabi [November 26] — 3rd (2:08:46)
2022
Barcelona [May 8] — 8th (2:07:25)
Fukuoka [December 4] — 5th (2:07:38)
2023
Daegu [April 2] — 12th (2:09:45)
Fukuoka [December 3] — 8th (2:08:36)
2024
Kobe [November 17] — 5th (2:14:43)
2025
Cali [May 4] — 9th (2:21:56)
