The 2016 Olympic 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot says
she still has two more years of competitive running left before finally
calling time on her illustrious career.
Now
41, Cheruiyot, one of the most decorated female athletes in Kenyan
history, proved she’s still got plenty of gas in the tank after
finishing fifth in 2:22:32 at the London Marathon on April 27, in what
was her fifth outing at the prestigious race..
In
that race, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa claimed the crown, finishing in a
women-only world record time of 2:15:50, ahead of Kenyan Joyciline
Jepkosgei (2:18:44) and Dutch Sifan Hassan (2:19:00).
Interestingly, Cheruiyot was not initially part of the elite start list in London. She
was drafted late following the withdrawal of world record holder Ruth
Chepng’etich and 2024 London champion Peres Jepchirchir.
Despite the short notice, the 2018 London Marathon champion showed glimpses of her vintage form.
"I am going to do some marathons in the next one to two years and after that hang up my running shoes and rest," Cheruiyot said.
With
a glittering career spanning over two decades, Cheruiyot has remained a
paragon of consistency both on the track and on the roads.
On
the track, she boasts four World Championship titles—winning the 5,000m
in Berlin 2009 and Daegu 2011 and the 10,000m in Daegu 2011 and Beijing
2015.
She bagged silver at the Osaka 2007 World Championships, clocking 14:58.50 to trail Ethiopia's Meseret Defar (14:57.91). In the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Doha, she won silver in the 3,000m with a time of 8:51.85, trailing Defar (8:51.17).
Her dominance in the Diamond League saw her claim the 5,000m trophy three years in a row from 2010 to 2012.
Cheruiyot’s
crowning moment came at the Rio 2016 Olympics, where she surged to gold
in the 5,000m, clocking 14:26.17, ahead of compatriot Hellen Obiri
(14:29.77) and Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana (14:33.59).
Also in Rio, Cheruiyot won silver in the 10,000m after clocking 29:32.53 behind Ayana (29:17.45).
Before
that, at the London 2012 Olympics, she bagged silver in the 5,000m and
bronze in the 10,000m, underlining her dominance on the global stage.
Her continental and cross-country resume is equally impressive.
She
struck gold in the 5,000m at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the
2010 African Championships in Nairobi and the 2001 Africa Junior
Championships in Réduit.
Cheruiyot
is also a two-time junior world cross country champion, having won the
junior title in 2001 (Vilamoura) and the senior title a decade later in
2011 (Punta Umbria).
On the
roads, Cheruiyot lifted the 2018 London Marathon title and finished
second in New York the same year and again in London in 2019.
Last year, she finished third in New York.
Going
into this year’s London Marathon, she was hopeful of reclaiming her
crown from 2018, which saw her triumph in 2:18:31, leading compatriot
Brigid Kosgei (2:20:13) and Ethiopia's Tadelech Bekele (2:21:40). Cheruiyot was, however, content with her top-five finish.
"I
feel good, I am happy about the position I got. I am proud of myself, I
have done a lot, and I think finishing fifth in London is good, and I
am proud of myself," she said.
Cheruiyot admitted the relentless pace up front made it tough to stay in touch with the leaders.
“I
wanted to stay with the second group because the leaders were pushing
for 2:15. My PB is 2:18, so I knew chasing that pace could burn me out. I
chose to run smart and finish strong,” she explained.
Although
a late addition to the elite field, Cheruiyot was race-ready, having
been scheduled to line up for the Hamburg Marathon on the same day.
“I
got the London invite at the last minute, and I’m grateful to the
organisers. I had trained well and was initially preparing for Hamburg,
but I switched plans when the London opportunity came,” she said.
