Eunice Jepkoech Sum (born 10 April 1988) is a Kenyan
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 1 ...
who specializes in the
800 metres
The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...
. She was the
2013 World champion and won the bronze medal in
2015. Sum took a silver and a gold at the
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
and
2014 African Championships in Athletics
The 2014 African Championships in Athletics was held in Marrakech, Morocco from 10 to 14 August 2014. The competition was the 19th edition of Africa senior championships. The competition served as preparation to African athletes for the next conti ...
respectively. She was also
2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and a three-time successive
Diamond League winner in 2013–15.
Career
Sum was born in the village of Kesses in
Uasin Gishu County
Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Rift Valley Province. Eldoret has the county's largest population center as well as its administrative and commercial center. “It lies between longitudes 34 degrees ...
in the former
Rift Valley Province
Rift Valley Province ( sw, Mkoa wa Bonde la Ufa) of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the Kenyan general election, 2013.
Rift Valley Province was the largest and one of the most economically important provinces i ...
and competed in the
heptathlon and
handball at school. She gave birth to a daughter Diana Jeruto in 2008 and only began a full-time athletics career in 2009 after being spotted competing in a heptathlon event by former
800 metres
The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...
world champion
Janeth Jepkosgei. At her invitation, Sum moved to
Eldoret to train with Jepkosgei's group.
[Sum rolls to Daegu under Jepkosgei's wing](_blank)
Capital FM. 3 August 2011. (Retrieved on 2014-08-25).[Sub two zero sum game](_blank)
IAAF. 13 May 2014. (Retrieved on 2014-08-25).
She made her international championship début in the
800 metres
The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...
at the
2010 African Championships in Athletics
The 2010 African Championships in Athletics was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 28 July to 1 August 2010.
Background
The African Championships in Athletics were held in Kenya for the first time. Previously two major athletics events have been held i ...
in
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
, but failed to make the final. In 2011, Sum set a personal best time of 1:59.66 in finishing second over 800 m at the Kenyan championships. This performance qualified Sum for the event at the
2011 World Championships in Athletics
The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011.
The United States topped the medal standings in th ...
in
Daegu,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, where she reached the semi finals.
Sum won a silver medal – her first medal in international competition – in the 800 m at the
2012 African Championships in Athletics
The 2012 African Championships in Athletics was held at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo, Benin from 27 June to 1 July 2012. It was the first time that Benin had hosted the event.
Medal summary Men
Women
Medal table
Participatin ...
in
Porto-Novo
Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.
Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...
, Benin. She ran a personal best of 1:59.13 in the final, finishing two hundredths of a second behind Burundi's
Francine Niyonsaba
Francine Niyonsaba (born May 5, 1993) is a Burundian runner, who specialized in the 800 metres and shifted to longer distances in 2019. She was the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist in the women's 800 metres. Her silver medal was the first Olym ...
. Sum then competed in the 1500 m at the
London Olympics, but finished a disappointing 10th in her heat and failed to qualify for the semi finals.
Sum progressed to the highest ranks of international competition in 2013, reaching her first global final and defeating Olympic champion and home favourite
Mariya Savinova to win a surprise 800 m gold in a personal best time of 1:57.38 at the
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, ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. The Kenyan defeated Savinova again at the
Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF ...
meeting to add the
2013 Diamond League crown in the 800 m to her world title. She won the 800 m at the
2014 Commonwealth Games.
Personal life
Sum is the first cousin of
Alfred Kirwa Yego, the 2007 world champion in the 800 metres.
She is a fan of
Chelsea FC
Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...
.
Achievements
International competitions
Circuit wins and titles, National championships
*
Diamond League 800 m overall winner (3):
![Diamond blue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Diamond_blue.svg)
2013,
![Diamond blue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Diamond_blue.svg)
2014,
![Diamond blue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Diamond_blue.svg)
2015
:: 800 metres wins, other events specified in parenthesis
:*
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 fa ...
(2):
Stockholm DN Galan,
Zürich Weltklasse
:*
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
(4):
Doha Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix,
Rome Golden Gala,
Oslo Bislett Games (),
Lausanne Athletissima (SB)
:*
2015 (5):
Shanghai Golden Grand Prix
The Diamond League Shanghai is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, China as part of the Diamond League. The meeting was founded as the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in 2005. The meet assumed its current name in 2010.
From ...
,
Eugene Prefontaine Classic (),
Paris Meeting (WL),
London Anniversary Games, Zürich
*
Kenyan Athletics Championships
**
800 metres
The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...
(2): 2012, 2014
Personal bests
*
800 metres
The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...
1:56.99 (
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
2015)
*
1500 metres
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...
4:01.54 (
Eugene 2014)
*
3000 metres 8:53.12 (
Eugene 2012)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sum, Eunice Jepkoech
Kenyan female middle-distance runners
1988 births
Living people
Olympic athletes of Kenya
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya
World Athletics Championships medalists
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Kenya
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Diamond League winners
IAAF Continental Cup winners
World Athletics Championships winners
People from Uasin Gishu County
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics