Benjamin Kolum Kiptoo (born 1979) is a Kenyan professional

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

. He has won marathons in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and

Chuncheon Chuncheon (; ; formerly romanized as Chunchŏn; literally ''spring river'') is the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea. The city lies in the north of the county, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River. There are some ...

, and represented Kenya at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

. He holds a personal best of 2:06:31 for the distance, set en route to victory at the 2011

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon (french: Marathon de Paris) is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the marathon with the second-most finishers in the world, behind the New York City Marathon. The marathon begins along the Champs ...

. He also holds the fastest ever time recorded on Italian soil (2:07:17), with which he won the 2009

Rome City Marathon The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy. History The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the ...

Career

Born in

Kapsabet Kapsabet is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of Nandi County and is located 40 kilometres southwest of Eldoret on the way to Chavakali. The name Kapsabet comes from "Kap"- 'belong to/area of' and "sabit" or "sobet" – 'live' and has come to ...

, Kenya, he was introduced to elite coach Claudio Berardelli by a friend and became part of the same training group as

Martin Lel Martin Kiptolo Lel (born 29 October 1978) is a Kenyan professional long distance and marathon runner. He won the London Marathon in 2005, 2007, and 2008, the New York City Marathon in 2003 and 2007 and the Great North Run in 2007 and 2009. His p ...

. He started his career as a

pacemaker An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eith ...

for road races and it was in the process of these duties that he completed his first marathon – he paced athletes at the 2006

Florence Marathon The Florence Marathon ( it, Maratona di Firenze) is an annual full-length marathon race held in late November in Florence, Italy, since 1984. History Established in 1984, the international competition has significantly grown in size since its ina ...

, where he was seventh with a time of 2:16:08 for the distance. The following year he was fourth at the

Brescia Marathon Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

and then improved his best to 2:12:24 to take second place at the

Lausanne Marathon The Lausanne Marathon is an annual marathon race held in the Swiss city of Lausanne since 1993. The road race generally takes place in October, while the 20 km of Lausanne takes place in April. A half marathon and multiple races (run, walk ...

. A return to the Brescia race in 2008 proved to be a pivotal point for his career as he topped the podium for the first time. Completing the race seven seconds outside of the course record, he sliced over three minutes off his previous best to win the race in 2:09:23.Sampaolo, Diego (2008-04-20)
Kiptoo breaks 2:10 in Brescia

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2010-10-27. More success followed at the

Beijing Marathon The Beijing Marathon () is an annual marathon race held around October in Beijing, People's Republic of China, since 1981. The race begins at Tiananmen Square and finishes in Celebration Square in Olympic Green. The full marathon is the only ...

in October as a front-running performance brought him his second win of the year. His strong form continued into 2009 as he took his third consecutive win over the distance at the

Rome Marathon The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy. History The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the t ...

in March. His winning time of 2:07:17 was not just a significant personal best and course record – it was the fastest marathon time ever to be recorded in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was selected for the Kenyan team at the

, representing his country internationally for the first time in the men's marathon. However, he was soon left behind by the leading pack and dropped out of the race before the 30 km mark while his teammates went on to secure the Marathon World Cup. His third race of the year was the

Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...

and he finished in a relatively quick time of 2:10:07, although this was only enough for seventh place as the winner

Gilbert Kirwa Gilbert Kipruto Kirwa (born 20 December 1985) is a Kenyan athlete who specialises in long-distance running and the marathon. His personal best for the marathon is 2:06:14 hours and has won races in Vienna and Frankfurt. Career A Nandi people, Na ...

entered the all-time top twenty runners. He participated in the 2010

and led the pack at the 35 km mark, eventually taking fourth place in 2:08:01 – the second fastest run of his career at that time. The

Chuncheon Marathon The Chuncheon International Marathon ( ko, 춘천마라톤) is an annual marathon race which is held in late October in the city of Chuncheon, South Korea. First held in 1946, it is the second oldest marathon in the country after the Seoul Internat ...

was his next challenge that year and he broke

Moses Tanui Moses Tanui (born 20 August 1965 in Sugoi Nandi District, Kenya) is a former Kenyan long-distance runner who won the gold medal over 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo. Biography At the 1993 World Championships i ...

's thirteen-year-old course record by over a minute to clinch victory over

Deriba Merga Deriba Merga Ejigu ( am, ደርባ መርጋ አጅጉ; born 26 October 1980) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. He mainly competes in the marathon. He finished fourth in that event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and went on to win ...

and

Benson Barus Benson Kipchumba Barus (born 4 July 1980) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in marathon and half marathon competitions. He has a personal best of 2:07:07 hours for the distance, set at the 2011 Prague Marathon, which he won. He also ...

. He made a step up in his career at his following race, as he won the 2011 Paris Marathon with a new best of 2:06:31 hours – the fourth fastest recorded on the elite course. His next race came at the

Honolulu Marathon The Honolulu Marathon (branded JAL Honolulu Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is a marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2km) in Honolulu, Hawaii, first held in 1973. It is one of the world's largest marathons, taking place annually on the second Sunday i ...

, but he managed only fifth place in a relatively slow time of 2:19:21 hours. He was 23rd at the 2012 Paris race but a third place at the

JoongAng Seoul Marathon The JoongAng Seoul Marathon is an annual footrace that takes place in Seoul, South Korea, usually in early November. First held in 1999, the race was established as a commemoration of Olympic marathon race which was held as part of the 1988 Seoul ...

in a time of 2:10:35 marked a revival in form.Kurdyumova, Yelena & Porada, Sergey (2012-11-04)
Kwambai defends, clocks 2:05:50 course record in Seoul
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-11.

References

External links

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profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiptoo, Benjamin 1979 births Living people People from Nandi County Sportspeople from Rift Valley Province Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners Paris Marathon male winners