Brimin Kipruto (born 31 July 1985) is a Kenyan professional

middle distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 15 ...

who specialises in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was born in Korkitony,

Keiyo District Keiyo District (also known as ''Elgeyo district'' or Elgeiyo) is a defunct administrative district in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The district was formed in 1994, when ''Elgeyo/Marakwet-District'' was split into two - the other half wa ...

. He holds a personal best of 7:53.64 minutes which is the second fastest time ever run, and the African Record. His personal best is only 0.01 of a second behind the world record of former county mate

Saif Saaeed Shaheen Saif Saaeed Shaheen ( ar, سيف سعيد شاهين), formerly Stephen Cherono (born 15 October 1982), is a steeplechase runner. He was born in Keiyo, Kenya but now he represents Qatar. He currently holds the world record for 3000 metre stee ...

, who switched national affiliation to

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

after growing up as Stephen Cherono in the Keiyo District. He won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics at the age of nineteen and improved to win the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics four years later. A

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

bronze medallist in 2005, he took his first global title in the steeplechase with a win at the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...

Career

At the 2001 World Youth Championships in Athletics in

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

he finished second in steeplechase. He graduated from Kipsoen Secondary School in 2003. The same year he competed at the African Junior Championships in

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and took silver again. At the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics he competed in 1500 instead of steeplechase and finished third. In 2004, having finished 2nd at the Kenyan Olympic trials, the young Kipruto won the silver medal in the

3000 m steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ho ...

at the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. In the 2005 World Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

he won a bronze medal in the same event. He finished third again at the 2005 IAAF World Athletics Final. In 2006 he finished sixth at the

World Athletics Final The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the ...

, repeating his place from 2004. In 2007, he won the gold medal in the steeplechase at the

, in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. After qualifying to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Kipruto finally won the gold medal at the same event. At the 2009 World Championships, the defending champion finished only seventh. He took two wins on the 2010 IAAF Diamond League circuit, finishing in first place at the Athletissima and

Meeting Areva Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamon ...

, but it was Kenyan rival

Paul Kipsiele Koech Paul Kipsiele Koech (born 10 November 1981) is a Kenyan runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He won the 2004 Olympic bronze medal in this event. His personal best of 7:54.31 minutes is the third fastest of all time. He was b ...

who went on to win the inaugural Diamond League trophy in the steeplechase. He entered the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

with the fastest mark of the year (8:00.90), but could only manage third place behind

Richard Mateelong Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong (born 14 October 1983) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metre steeplechase. He won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he has two World Champ ...

and Ezekiel Kemboi as part of a Kenyan medal sweep. He competed in the short race at the

Great Edinburgh Cross Country The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country was an annual cross country running competition that took place every January in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was one of the competitions in the Great Run series of athletics events and was held alongs ...

and finished in third place behind

Eliud Kipchoge Eliud Kipchoge ( ; born 5 November 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 O ...

and

Asbel Kiprop Asbel Kipruto Kiprop (born 30 June 1989) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner, who specialises in the 1500 metres. He was awarded the 1500 m gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics after the original winner, Rashid Ramzi, tested positive for ...

.Wenig, Jorg (2011-01-08)
Kipchoge and Masai prevail in snowy Edinburgh
IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-09. He lives in Korkitony and trains with the Global Sports group in

Kaptagat Kaptagat is a human settlement in Uasin Gishu County, in the southwestern part of Kenya. This part of the country, where the two counties of Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet County share a border, is used by the majority of Kenyan professional l ...

near Eldoret under coaches

Patrick Sang Patrick Sang (born 11 April 1964) is a Kenyan running coach and retired steeplechase runner. Sang won three silver medals in major 3000 m steeplechase competitions: *1991 World Championships in Athletics * 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics * ...

and Joseph Chelimo.

Personal best

*1500 Metres – 3:35.23 (2006) *3000 Metres – 7:47.33 (2006) *2000 Metres Steeplechase – 5:36.81 (2001) *3000 Metres Steeplechase – 7:53.64 (2011)

Achievements

References

External links

IAAF Focus on Athletes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kipruto, Brimin 1985 births Living people People from Elgeyo-Marakwet County Kenyan male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Kenya Olympic silver medalists for Kenya Olympic athletes of Kenya Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Kenyan male steeplechase runners World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Kenya Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships winners