•The world's greatest marathoner of all time Eliud Kipchoge headlines the stellar list of decorated Kenyan athletes who have amazed the world with their sublime performances on the global stage.
•David Rudisha produced one of the most remarkable displays ever witnessed on the track to smash his world record in the 800m at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.
Image: Handout
Last Friday, Kenyan track queen Faith Kipyegon electrified the globe after setting a new world record in the women's 1500m race.
Kipyegon, 29, obliterated a rich field at the Florence Diamond League meet in Italy to shave 96 hundredths of a second off Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba's 2015 world record.
She effectively joins the star-studded list of Kenyans who have previously mesmerised the world with superb exploits on the track.
To date, several Kenyan athletes boast world records in various athletics categories. Now, buoyed by Faith's masterstroke performance, I want to beam the spotlight on Kenyan athletes who have carved a niche in the Hall of Fame and made the country proud.
The world's greatest marathoner of all time Eliud Kipchoge headlines the stellar list of decorated Kenyan athletes who have amazed the world with their sublime performances on the global stage.
Formerly a milk vendor, Kipchoge breasted the tape in 2:01:39 at the 2018 Berlin marathon to smash an earlier record set by Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto.
Kipchoge broke the glass ceiling further and set a new record after running the 2022 Berlin Marathon in 2:01.09 on September 25.
In 2019, he became the first human being to complete the 42.2 km in under two hours after breaking the tape in 1:59:40.2 during the Ineos159 Challenge in Vienna, Austria.
David Rudisha produced one of the most remarkable displays ever witnessed on the track to smash his world record in the 800m at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.
The Saint Francis Kimuron Secondary School alumnus blazed through the line in 1:40.91, bettering his previous time of 1:41:09 set at the 2012 ISTAF World Challenge in Berlin.
Beatrice Chepkoech lit up the 2018 Herculis Diamond League meet in Monaco, France to break the 3,000m steeplechase after finishing in 8:44.32.
She became the first woman to break the 8:45 and 8:50 mark in the event. Currently, the late Agnes Tirop holds the world record for 10km, which she set in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
She crossed the finishing line in 30:01 minutes, shaving off 28 seconds from the previous world record set in 2002 by Morocco’s Asmae Leghzaoui. The former senior world athletics cross-country champion lost her life mysteriously a month after accomplishing the feat.
A foundation has since been established in her honor to create awareness against domestic violence.
Iten-based athlete Brigid Kosgei is arguably among the finest crop of athletes the country has paraded on the international stage in recent years. The 28-year-old mother of twins, shattered the world record by 81 seconds at the 2019 Chicago Marathon after clocking 2:14:04 to smash Brit Paula Radcliffe‘s record from 2003.
Aside from that, she won the 2020 London Marathon, bagged the silver at the Tokyo Olympics, placed fourth at the 2021 London Marathon, and recorded the third-fastest time in history (2:16:02) to bag the Tokyo Marathon.
Noah Ngeny of Kenya still holds the 1000m record set in the Italian city of Rieti after recording an impressive time of 2:11.96 in 1999.
The quartet of William Yiampoy, Ismael Kombich, Wilfred Bungei, and Elkanah Angweny set the record for the 4 by 800m relay in Boudewijnstadion, Brussels, in August 2006 after clocking 7:02.43.
Kenya similarly boasts bragging rights in the road relay record set in November 2005 with a time of 1:57:06 in Chiba, Japan by Josphat Muchiri, Martin Irungu, Daniel Muchunu, Mekubo Mogusu, Onesmus Nyerere, and John Kariuki.
Other than world records, Kenya holds the title for the most female team wins at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships between 2009 and 2019.
Athletes, who propelled the country to the feat are Florence Jebet Kiplagat (2009), Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (2011), Emily Chebet (2010 and 2013), Agnes Jebet Tirop (2015), Irene Cheptai (2017) and Hellen Obiri (2019).
We are proud of our enterprising athletes who have hammered away indefatigably to put the country's name on the world map. Kongole!