Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir (born 15 June 1995) is a

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

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 ...

. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and 2022 World champion 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 the ...

. Korir won the silver medal in the event at the

2018 African Championships in Athletics The 21st African Championships in Athletics was held in Asaba, Nigeria from 1 to 5 August 2018 at the Stephen Keshi Stadium. It was the second time that Nigeria hosted this competition. 800 athletes from 52 African countries participated. Medal su ...

. As of November 2022 he was ranked as the sixth fastest athlete of all time over the 800 m, with a personal best of 1:42.05. Korir is a three-time

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

champion at the event.

Career

In 2013, athletics coach Brother Colm O’Connell, who was also based in

Iten Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya. Iten serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county. The town is located along the road between Eldoret and Kabarnet at the junction of the road heading to Kapsowar. ...

in Kenya, convinced Emmanuel Korir to switch from shorter

sprints Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle * Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint ...

to the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

. After 1:46.94 run in the finals of the 2016 Kenyan Championships, he was offered a scholarship at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

in the USA. While at

UTEP Miners The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...

, he was coached by the Olympic 800 m champion

Paul Ereng Paul Ereng (born 22 August 1966) is a former Kenyan athlete, and the surprise winner of the 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Born in Kitale Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and th ...

. In January 2017, Korir set a indoor world record for the

600 metres The 600 metres is a rarely run middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It is most often run at high school indoor track and field competitions. All-time top 25 *i = indoor performance *A = affected by altitude *h = ha ...

. The same year, he left the UTEP for a professional running contract with

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, he failed to make the

finals at 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 ...

, securing the silver medal in the event at the

. Korir qualified to represent Kenya at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, where he won the gold medal in the 800 m event with a time of 1:45.06. He completed the Olympic-world double at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

held in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, claiming 800 m title in a season's best of 1:43.71. At the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

the following month, he was disqualified for a lane infringement in the men's 400 metres heats. His current residence is El Paso, Texas.

Achievements

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles

champion 800 m (3): Diamond blue

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

:: 800 metres wins, other events specified in parenthesis :*

(1): Monaco Herculis ( ) :*

(5):

Doha Diamond League The Doha Diamond League is an annual one-day track and field meeting held at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is part of the Diamond League – the top level international circuit for the sport. It is typically held in May as the fi ...

, Eugene Prefontaine Classic (),

London Anniversary Games The London Diamond League, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Dia ...

(WL PB ), Birmingham British Grand Prix (MR), Brussels Memorial Van Damme :*

(1):

Zürich Weltklasse , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () ...

(2): Chorzów Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, Zürich (WL)

National and NCAA championships

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 ...

: 2018 *

NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Athlete's individual performances earn points for ...

NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate indoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their i ...

** 800 metres:

Personal bests

– 44.21 (

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 ha ...

2018) *

– 1:42.05 (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

2018) ** 800 metres indoor – 1:44.21 (

New York, NY New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

2018) *

1000 metres The 1000 metres is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. The 1000 yards, an imperial alternative, was sometimes also contested. All-time top 25 *h = hand timed *i = indoor performance *A = affected by ...

– 2:18.19 (

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Korir, Emmanuel Living people 1995 births Kenyan male middle-distance runners UTEP Miners men's track and field athletes World record setters in athletics (track and field) IAAF Continental Cup winners Diamond League winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Kenya Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic athletes of Kenya People from Uasin Gishu County