Caroline Nyaga (born 10 July 1993) is a Kenyan

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. She arrived at the 2022 African Championships without even a pair of suitable running shoes, but after being gifted a pair from

Faith Kipyegon Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (born 10 January 1994) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specializing in the 1500 metres. A 2016 Rio Olympic and 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion with the Games record at the latter, she is the second woman in history t ...

, she won a bronze medal in the 5000 metres and then two days later won gold in the 10,000 metres.

Career

Though Nyaga ran two road races in England and Wales in 2017, she did not debut at an international championship until 2019, earning her first berth to the African Games by finishing 3rd at the

Kenyan Athletics Championships The Kenyan Athletics Championships is an annual track and field meeting which serves as Kenya's national championships for the sport. Athletics Kenya, the country's governing body for athletics organises the event. The championships is usually hel ...

10,000 m in 32:30.63. At the Games race, Nyaga finished 5th in 32:24.17 as the second Kenyan finisher. After failing to make the Kenyan 2019 World Championships and 2021 Olympics teams, Nyaga secured her next national podium finish at the 2022 Kenyan Championships 5000 m, running 15:32.11 to finish 2nd behind

Beatrice Chebet Beatrice Chebet (born 5 March 2000) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. In 2022, she won the silver medal in the 5000 metres at the World Championships, and became Commonwealth, African and Diamond League champion. Chebet claimed the gold meda ...

. At first, this was not enough earn her a spot on the Kenyan

African Championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships ;Athletics *African Championships in Ath ...

team, but another Kenyan athlete's late withdrawal freed up a spot for Nyaga in both the 5000 m and 10,000 m. Nyaga arrived at the championships with only run-down trainers, and she and her coach had to seek advice from

, who gave Nyaga new running shoes before the race despite not having met Nyaga before. She had a very successful championships, winning a bronze medal in the 5000 m followed by a gold medal two days later in the 10,000 m. She claimed that an encouraging note from Kipyegon, passed through Nyaga's coach, motivated her to win the 10,000 m title. In 2023, Nyaga finished 7th at the Kenyan World Championships 5000 m trials, failing to make the Kenyan Worlds team. After seven laps,

began to pull away with two other athletes, and Nyaga struggled to stay with the trio and was passed by three other athletes by the finish. Nyaga later said that her issue was holding her kick for the last lap, and that she would work on her issues and bounce back for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

Statistics

Best performances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nyaga, Caroline Living people 1993 births 21st-century Kenyan women Kenyan female long-distance runners African Championships in Athletics winners