Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Sammy Kipketer

Sammy Kipketer
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Kenya
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester 5000 m

Sammy Kipketer (born 29 September 1981 in Rokocho, Keiyo District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and cross-country running.

Career

He graduated from Lelboinet Secondary School in 1998. The next year he qualified for the 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he finished sixth at the junior race. The Kenyan Army recruited him in 2001.

He now trains with Daniel Komen who was Kenya's foremost runner for a while. Kipketer broke the 3,000m junior world record twice when he was 17. He has also broken the 13-minute barrier for the 5000 metres. He won a 10000 metres in Brussels with his personal record time of 26:49.38. Right now he is focusing on 10-kilometre races.

He holds the 5 kilometres road running world record as recognised by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS), while IAAF does not keep a world record over the distance. Kipketer's time, 12:59.5 minutes, was set at the Carlsbad 5000 race in Carlsbad, California in March 2000.[1]

He won the Parelloop 10K in race in the Netherlands in 2001,[2] setting a new world record of 27.18 minutes. Haile Gebrselassie ran the distance in 27:02 minutes in 2002 in Doha, IAAF recognised the time as world record, while ARRS rejected it claiming Gebrselassie got assistance by a vehicle. Thus Kipketer's time is still a valid ARRS world record (as of 2007), although Micah Kogo has since set a better time, still awaiting ratification by ARRS.[1]

Kipketer is managed by Tom Ratcliffe of Kimbia Athletics and coached by Dieter Hogen. He belongs to the Keiyo tribe, a sub-tribe of Kalenjin. He was born in Rokocho, near Kaptarakwa. He is married and has 1 daughter, and he currently lives in Merewet, Uasin Gishu District. He is 1.66 metres tall and has a weight of 52 kg.

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Kenya
2000 World Cross Country Championships Vilamoura, Portugal 2nd Short race
2001 World Cross Country Championships Ostend, Belgium 4th Short race
World Championships Edmonton, Canada 6th 5000 m
2002 World Cross Country Championships Dublin, Ireland 4th Short race
Commonwealth Games Manchester, England 1st 5000 m
Africa Military Games Nairobi, Kenya 1st 5000 m
2nd 10,000 m
2003 Military World Games Catania, Italy 1st 5000 m
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 4th 5000 m
2005 World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 5th 5000 m

Personal bests

References

  1. ^ a b Association of Road Racing Statisticians: World Records
  2. ^ Arrs.net: List of Parelloop winners