Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat (born 15 November 1979) is a Kenyan professional

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 was the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

World Champion 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, ...

in the

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 ...

. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

s in 2010. Her personal best for the distance is 2:19:50 hours, set at the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

in 2012. At age 37, Kiplagat won the 2017 Boston Marathon in a time of 2:21:52 hours, and won the marathon silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in London. At age 39, she was second at the

2019 Boston Marathon The 2019 Boston Marathon was the 123rd running of the annual marathon race held in Boston, Massachusetts. It took place on April 15, 2019. The elite men's race came down to a sprint finish, which Lawrence Cherono won in 2:07:57. The elite wome ...

and fourth in the event at the following

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, ...

. At age 41, she won the 2021 Boston Marathon, becoming the oldest-ever winner of a World Marathon Major (male or female).

Career

At the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

distance, Kiplagat won a silver medal at the 1996 World Junior Championships and a bronze medal at the 1998 World Junior Championships. She finished thirteenth in the long race at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships. In the same season she recorded personal bests in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

, with 15:57.3 minutes in July in Nairobi, and the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

, with 1:09:32 hours in October in San Jose. In June 2007 she ran the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

in 33:27.0 minutes in Nairobi. She won the 2006 Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, the 2007

Lilac Bloomsday Run The Lilac Bloomsday Run, also known as Bloomsday, is an annual timed road race in the northwest United States, held on the first Sunday of May since 1977 in The course length is 12 km (7.456 mi). The run has had over 38,000 participants every ...

and the 2007 Bay to Breakers (San Francisco).

2010

Kiplagat finished second behind

Emily Chebet Emily Chebet Muge (born 18 February 1986) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the 10,000 metres and cross country running. She is a two-time winner of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, being the gold medal ...

at the 2010

Freihofer's Run for Women Freihofer's Run for Women is an annual five-kilometer road running competition for women that is usually held in late May or early June in Albany, New York, United States. First held in 1979, the race has grown into a sizable event that holds IAA ...

, running a time of 15:20 and winning $5000 in the process. She managed third place at the Beach to Beacon race in August 2010, and completed the same feat at the

Falmouth Road Race The Falmouth Road Race is an annual road race on Cape Cod from Woods Hole, a village in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Falmouth Heights. The race organizer is Falmouth Road Race, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization that puts on the race e ...

two weeks later (finishing behind

Lineth Chepkurui Lineth Chepkurui (born 23 February 1988 in Bomet) is a Kenyan long distance runner. At the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, 2008 World Cross Country Championships Chepkurui finished eleventh in the individual race, however this was not ...

and

Wude Ayalew Wude Ayalew Yimer ( Amharic: ውዴ ፡ አያሌው ፡ ይመር; born 4 July 1987) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. She was the bronze medallist over 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and took the s ...

at both competitions). Kiplagat won the

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

in 2010, only her second marathon ever, and went on to win the 2010 New York City Marathon. She defeated two marathon debutantes,

Shalane Flanagan Shalane Grace Flanagan (born July 8, 1981) is an American long-distance runner, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area reco ...

of the United States and

Mary Keitany Mary Jepkosgei Keitany (born 18 January 1982) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. She is the world record holder in a women-only marathon, having won the 2017 London Marathon in a time of 2:17:01. As of November 2022, she plac ...

of Kenya, who took second and third, respectively. Edna Kiplagat, London Marathon 2011

2011

She ran a career best of 1:09:00 at the

New York City Half Marathon The New York City Half Marathon (branded as the United Airlines NYC Half) is an annual half marathon road running race from Brooklyn's Prospect Park to Manhattan's Central Park via the Manhattan Bridge, held since 2006. It passes through o ...

, finishing as runner-up behind Caroline Rotich. She took on Keitany again at the

2011 London Marathon The 2011 London Marathon was the 31st running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 17 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai in a course record time of 2:04:40 hours and ...

, but was outrun by her domestic rival. Still, Kiplagat was pleased with her third-place performance as her time of 2:20:46 marked a significant personal best, improving upon her previous time by almost five minutes. Kiplagat was the race favourite for the 2011 World Championships Marathon and delivered on her form, taking the women's title in a time of 2:28:43 hours. Her win did not look assured when she fell over in the last 5 km, but her teammate and eventual third placer

Sharon Cherop Sharon Jemutai Cherop (born 16 March 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She won a bronze medal at the age of sixteen in the 5000 metres at the World Junior Championships. She was the bronze medal winne ...

stopped mid-race to help Kiplagat to her feet. Kiplagat, Cherop and

Priscah Jeptoo Priscah Jeptoo (born 26 June 1984) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She has won marathons in New York, Paris, Turin, and London and has a best time of 2:20:14 for the distance. She was the runner-up i ...

made it a medal sweep for Kenya – the first time that any nation had taken all three medals at a global marathon championship. She entered the

Montferland Run Pfixx Solar Montferland Run is an annual 15-kilometres road running competition held in 's-Heerenberg, Montferland, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1996 and typically takes place on the first Sunday in December. Unlike many elite level road ...

with a slight injury and finished as runner-up to Abebech Afework.

2012

She began 2012 on grass and came third at the

Kenyan Cross Country Championships The Kenyan Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running competition that serves as the national championship for Kenya. It is organised by Athletics Kenya and has permit race status from the International Association of Athletics ...

. This was her preparation for the 2012 London Marathon, where she was the last runner to challenge eventual winner

and ended the race as runner-up in a personal best of 2:19:50 hours. Kiplagat was selected for the Kenyan Olympic team as a result. She was a comfortable winner of the

New York Mini 10K The Mastercard New York Mini 10K is an annual 10-kilometer road running competition for women that takes place in Central Park, New York City, in the United States. The race has been organised by New York Road Runners since 1972. The competition ...

in June. At the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

she failed to repeat her success in the British capital and managed only twentieth place in the

Olympic marathon The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the prog ...

with a time of 2:27:52 hours. Six weeks later she ran at the

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the Simplyhealth Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and Sou ...

and had a better performance, setting a personal best of 1:07:41 hours while finishing runner-up to

Tirunesh Dibaba Tirunesh Dibaba ( om, Xirunesh Dibaabaa, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 June 1985) is an Ethiopian athlete who competed in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medals, ...

2013

Kiplagat finished runner-up in the

for the second consecutive year, on this occasion behind Priscah Jeptoo. Later in 2013 she became the first woman to retain the marathon world title when she earned the first gold medal on the opening day of the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

, taking victory ahead of

Valeria Straneo Valeria Straneo (born 5 April 1976) is an Italian long-distance runner, winner of the silver medal at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics and Italian record holder in the marathon. She won the Stramilano in 2011 and bettered the half ma ...

and

Kayoko Fukushi is a Japanese long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000, 10,000 metres and marathon. Fukushi represented Japan at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2013 World Championships in ...

in a time of 2:25:44 hours.

2014

After finishing on the podium in each of the previous three editions, Kiplagat finally claimed victory at the

ahead of (unrelated) compatriot

Florence Kiplagat Florence Jebet Kiplagat (born 27 February, 1987) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time world champion, having won at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships ...

in a time of 2:20:21 hours. Kiplagat ended 2014 with a 2:36:24 finish (13th place) at the 2014 New York City Marathon.

2015

Kiplagat returned to the

2015 London Marathon The 2015 London Marathon was the 35th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 26 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Ethiopian Tigist Tufa. Th ...

with a time of 2:27:16 hours (11th place). She finished in fifth place at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in

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 ...

with a time of 2:28:15 hours.

2016

2016 saw Kiplagat return to the Top 3 of major races with significantly faster finishing times than just one year prior. She finished in 2:22:36 hours for 3rd place at the 2016 Tokyo Marathon, and in 2:23:28 hours for 2nd place at the 2016 Chicago Marathon.

2017

At age 37, Kiplagat won the 2017 Boston Marathon in a time of 2:21:52 hours. This victory was her debut Boston Marathon after over a decade of exceptional running. "I have done almost everything in our sport, but it was one of my dreams to run Boston, the world's oldest marathon," says Kiplagat. "And it will also mean I have run five of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors in addition to both the Olympic Games and World Championships." In August, Kiplagat participated in the

2017 World Championships in Athletics Seventeen or 17 may refer to: * 17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japane ...

held in London. She won the silver medal in the women's marathon in a time of 2:27:18. She was preceded by

Rose Chelimo Rose Chelimo (born 12 July 1989) is a Kenyan-born Bahraini long-distance runner who competes in road running events up to the marathon distance. She is the 2017 IAAF world champion. She represented Bahrain at the 2016 Summer Olympics, placing eig ...

2021

Kiplagat competed in the 2021 Boston Marathon less than one month before her 42nd birthday. She initially finished second, 24 seconds behind her compatriot Diana Kipyokei. Kipyokei's result was disqualified on December 20, 2022 for use of a performance-enhancing

corticosteroid Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates, as well as the synthetic analogues of these hormones. Two main classes of corticosteroids, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, are involv ...

. Kiplagat was retroactively elevated to first place. Her victory made her the oldest runner, either male or female, to have won a

World Marathon Major The World Marathon Majors (WMM) (known for sponsorship reasons as the Abbott World Marathon Majors) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races reco ...

event. At the time of her win, she was more than three years older than the previous female recordholder,

Constantina Diță Constantina Diță (formerly Constantina Diță-Tomescu born on January 23, 1970, in Turburea, Gorj County), is a Romanian long-distance runner, who specializes mainly in the half marathon and marathon. She was the marathon gold medallist at t ...

Achievements

World Marathon Majors results

Personal life

Kiplagat is a police woman in Iten, Kenya. "I am one of the role models in my town and country," says Kiplagat. "I have mentored girls in school and I have empowered women to form community associations. I also support less fortunate kids to pay their school fees." Kiplagat and her husband have five children – two of her own, two adopted from her sister who died of breast cancer in 2003, and one adopted from a neighbor who died in childbirth in 2013. Her children Wendy, 9, and Carlos, 13, were at the finish line and award ceremony for her victory in the 121st annual Boston Marathon. She started the Edna Kiplagat Foundation to raise awareness of breast cancer. Kiplagat also volunteers to create awareness for garbage management toward keeping a clean environment.

References

External links

*
Kimbia AthleticsEdna Kimplagat 2010 NYC Marathon Winner Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiplagat, Edna 1979 births Living people Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners New York City Marathon female winners London Marathon female winners Boston Marathon female winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Kenya World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya People from Elgeyo-Marakwet County Recipients of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races Best Marathon Runner Award World Athletics Championships winners 21st-century Kenyan women 20th-century Kenyan women