Edwin Cheruiyot Soi (born 3 March 1986) 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 ...

who specialises in the

3000 3000 or ''variation'', may refer to: * 3000 (number), the number three thousand * A.D. 3000, the last year of the 30th century and the 3rd millennium CE * 3000 BCE, a year in the 3rd millennium BC * 3000s AD, a decade, century, millennium in the 4 ...

and

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 ...

. He is a two-time Olympian for Kenya. His earliest honours were team

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s with Kenya at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

in 2006 and 2007. Soi has had his success on the track – he was the 5000 m

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

list at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

and was highly successful at the IAAF World Athletics Final, taking three gold and three silver medals from 2006 to 2008. He became the continental champion on the track 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 ...

and was the 3000 m bronze medallist at the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of four ...

. Soi has won numerous 10K road races in his career; he has won three times consecutively at the BOclassic, Memorial Peppe Greco and

Giro Media Blenio The Giro Media Blenio is an annual road running event over 10 kilometres which takes place in April in the village of Dongio, Switzerland. It was created in honour of Markus Ryffel's silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 1984 Los Angeles O ...

races, and has had four straight wins at the

Giro al Sas The Giro al Sas, also known as the Giro Podistico di Trento and the Giro Internazionale Città di Trento, is an annual 10-kilometre road running competition for men which takes place in October in the city of Trento, Italy. First held as a part of ...

. His personal best for the distance is 27:46 minutes.

Career

Early races

Soi had his first running successes when undertaking a tour of races in Spain in 2004. He won the Cursa Bombers 10K in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and won a second 10K race in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

that November. His first opportunity to represent Kenya internationally came in 2006, as he gained selection for the

2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on April 1/2, 2006. The races were held at the Umi-no-nakamichi Seaside Park in Fukuoka, Japan, Japan's National Cross Country Course which is the permanent residence of the annual Fukuo ...

with a fourth-place finish at the national short cross country race. He finished in eighth place in the short race and helped Kenya to the team

, alongside

Isaac Kiprono Songok Isaac Kiprono Songok (born 25 April 1984 in Kaptel, Nandi District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He went St. Patrick's High School in Iten, famous for producing runners. In 2001 he set a new 2000 m World Junior Record (4:56.86) in Berlin ...

Benjamin Limo Benjamin Kipkoech Limo (born 23 August 1974 in Chepkongony, Uasin Gishu) is a Kenyan former middle- and long-distance runner. His races ranged distances from 1500 m to 10,000 m, but Limo mainly competed in 5000 metres, where he has won intern ...

and

Augustine Kiprono Choge Augustine Kiprono Choge (born 21 January 1987) is a Kenyan middle distance and long distance runner. He won world youth and junior titles on the track in 2003 and 2004, eventually going on to set a world junior record for the ...

. The 2006 season also brought him further success on the road circuit as he won both the

and the 10 km du Conseil Général 13 in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, setting a career best time of 27:46 minutes at the latter race. He took part on the Golden League circuit for the first time that year and marked himself out as one of the top runners over

and

– he was second to

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele ( om, Qananiisaa baqqalaa; am, ቀነኒሳ በቀለ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 (5,000m) and 2005 (10,000m) unti ...

at the

Meeting Gaz de France 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 Diam ...

with a 5000 m best time of 12:52.40 and won at the Athletissima meet.Edwin Cheruiyot Soi
The-Sports. Retrieved 1 January 2011. He capped of his track season with two

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

s at the 2006 IAAF World Athletics Final, beaten to the gold medals by brothers Kenenisa and

Tariku Bekele Tariku Bekele (Amharic: ታሪኩ በቀለ; born 28 February 1987) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000 metres and has moved up to 10000 metres as well. He is the younger brother of Kenenisa Bekele. He ...

The

2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2007. The races were held at the Mombasa Golf Course in Mombasa, Kenya. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encom ...

were held in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

and, after a win at the

Cross Ouest France A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, he earned selection for the national team. In a Kenyan-dominated race, Soi took ninth place with five of his compatriots finishing ahead of him. He retained both his 10K titles at the Giro Media Blenio and in Marseille. After a number of top three finishes on the track circuit, he hoped to qualify for 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 ...

. A fourth place at the trials saw him narrowly miss out on selection, although his track season had a successful culmination with a 3000/5000 m double at the

2007 IAAF World Athletics Final The 5th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 22 and September 23, 2007. Results Men Women See also *2007 in athletics (track and field) References ;Results2007 IAAF World ...

. This made him the first Kenyan to win both events at the competition. He ran at a New Year's Eve race in

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

, the BOclassic, and took the victory in the 10K race.

Olympic medal

After running an indoor 3000 m personal best of 7:36.70 in Valencia, Soi was chosen to compete in the event at the

2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7–9, 2008. Bid Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, R ...

. Despite being the fastest qualifier for the final, he slipped behind the leaders and finished in fourth place. He won his first Olympic medal at the

. He failed to build upon his Olympic success at the 2009 World Championships as he was ill-prepared for the Kenyan Trials and missed out on a place in the Kenyan team. In September 2009, he won his second Memorial Peppe Greco in

Scicli Scicli is a town and municipality in the Province of Ragusa in the south east of Sicily, southern Italy. It is from Ragusa, and from Palermo, and has a population (2017) of 27,051. Alongside seven other cities in the Val di Noto, it has been li ...

– an achievement only matched by

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

and

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 ...

. Soi became the continental champion at the

, winning the men's 5000 m title. He was selected to represent Africa at the

2010 IAAF Continental Cup The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 200 ...

but managed only fourth place. He took his third 10K victory in Scicli in September. He also defended his title at the

10K race in

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

, seeing off a challenge from

Wilson Busienei Wilson Kipkemei Busienei (born 18 August 1981 in Nakasongola) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is best known for winning three gold medals at the 2005 Summer Universiade. He has represented his country at the World Championship level in cro ...

in the final stages. He signalled his return to

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

that November with a third-place finish at the

Oeiras Cross Country The Oeiras International Cross Country (''Portuguese: Crosse Internacional de Oeiras'') is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Oeiras, Portugal. Established in 2000, it is usually held in mid-November and is traditional ...

in Portugal. He attempted a fourth straight win at the BOclassic, but was beaten into third place by

Imane Merga Imane Merga Jida (ኢማነ መርጋ ጂዳ) (born 15 October 1988) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres. He won his first world title at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships ...

and

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

. In the 2011 track season he ran two personal bests: he ran 7:27.55 min over 3000 m to take second at the 2011 Diamond League meet in Doha, then set a two-mile best of 8:14.10 min at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

(where he was runner-up to Bernard Lagat). He did not make the Kenyan team for 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 ...

. Soi had a third consecutive win at the Giro al Sas race that October and ended the year with his fourth career win at the BOClassic. In his first race of 2012, he edged Vincent Chepkok at the line to win the

Campaccio The Campaccio is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in early January in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy. Organised by the ''Unione Sportiva Sangiorgese'' (Sangiorgese Sports Association), the event attracts participation fr ...

race. An indoor personal best of 7:29.94 minutes for the 3000 m earned him a place at the

, where he won his second global medal in the form of the 3000 m bronze. He qualified for the Kenyan Olympic team for a second time, but failed to make the 5000 m final 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 ...

, placing sixth in his heat. On the roads that year, he edged out

Thomas Longosiwa Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa (born January 14, 1982) is a Kenyan professional athlete who has competed at the two Olympics, winning a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is also the Kenyan 5000 metres champion from 2007.IAAF, June 17, 2007Ki ...

to take his fourth career win at the Media Blenio race in April and had a fourth straight win at the Giro al Sas. In 2013 he focused on 5000 m track running and began his year by ending Mo Farah's year-and-a-half winning streak, beating the Olympic champion at the Prefontaine Classic. He was only fifth at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pie ...

but a third place at the Kenyan trials guaranteed his selection for the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

. He ran a personal best and meeting record of 12:51.34 minutes at the

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world reco ...

meeting a month before the World 5000 m final, but at the championship race he finished out of the medals in fifth place. He ended the track season at the

Memorial Van Damme The Memorial Van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, that takes place in late August or early September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now the final event of the Diamond L ...

and came fourth. In October he retained the Giro al Sas title yet again.

Career highlights

;IAAF World Cross Country Championships : 2006 – Fukuoka, 8th at short race : 2006 – Fukuoka, 1st at short team competition (with Songok / Limo / Choge) : 2007 – Mombasa, 8th at long race : 2007 – Mombasa, 1st at long team competition (with Mosop / B. Kipyego / Ngatuny / Macharinyang / M. Kipyego) ;IAAF World Athletics Final : 2006 – Stuttgart, 2nd at 3,000 m : 2006 – Stuttgart, 2nd at 5,000 m : 2007 – Stuttgart, 1st at 3,000 m : 2007 – Stuttgart, 1st at 5,000 m : 2008 – Stuttgart, 1st at 5,000 m : 2008 – Stuttgart, 2nd at 3,000 m : 2009 – Thessaloniki, 3rd at 5,000 m ;Other races :2007 –

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

, 1st at

:2007 –

, 1st at BOclassic :2008 –

San Giorgio su Legnano San Giorgio su Legnano (Legnanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan. San Giorgio su Legnano borders the following municipalities: Legnano, Villa Co ...

, 1st at Campaccio EAA Cross Country :2009 –

, 1st at BOclassicboclassic.it
"Soi manages hat trick in BOclassic"

Personal bests

''Source:'' Edwin Cheruiyot SOI , Profile , World Athletics. (2021). Worldathletics.Org. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://worldathletics.org/athletes/kenya/edwin-cheruiyot-soi-14209817

References

External links

*

from

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soi, Edwin 1986 births Living people People from Kericho County Kenyan male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Olympic bronze medalists for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Kenyan male cross country runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games African Games competitors for Kenya