Florence Jepkemoi Barsosio (born 11 August 1976 in

Keiyo District Keiyo District (also known as ''Elgeyo district'' or Elgeiyo) is a defunct administrative district in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The district was formed in 1994, when ''Elgeyo/Marakwet-District'' was split into two - the other half wa ...

) is a Kenyan athlete who specialises in

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

. Her sister,

Sally Barsosio Sally Barsosio (born 21 March 1978 in Keiyo District) is a Kenyan distance runner. , Barsosio is the youngest ever medallist at the World Junior Championships in Athletics, at 14 years and 182 days. Career In 1993, aged 15 years 153 days, she wo ...

, is also a professional runner. She has competed at world championship finals in

long-distance track event Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

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 ...

and

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

. The majority of her success has come in

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 ...

races: she won the 2000

Turin Marathon The Turin Marathon ( it, Maratona di Torino Gran Premio La Stampa) is an annual marathon race which takes place in Turin, Italy in November. History The first edition of the modern race was held in 1987, although other marathon competitions have ...

in her debut over the distance and has gone on to win marathons in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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 ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Barsosio has taken part in two

New York 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: finishing fifth in 2000 (with her 2:27:00 personal best performance), and eleventh at the 2001 race. Her only Marathon

World Championship 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, ...

race came in 2001 and she finished in sixth position. She has also competed over 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 ...

distance and has won the

Paris Half Marathon Paris Half Marathon (''French: Semi-marathon de Paris''), known as the Harmonie Mutuelle Semi de Paris for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon held every March in Paris, France since 1993. Kenya's Stanley Biwott is the men's cours ...

and

Prague Half Marathon The Prague Half Marathon (known as the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in Spring on the city streets of Prague, Czech Republic, first held in 1999. It ...

Early career

The older sister of

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 ...

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, ...

, Florence began her career as a track and

cross country runner 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 ...

. At the

1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995. This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nat ...

she finished 13th in the women's 5000 metres final. She was the 1996 winner of the

Cross della Vallagarina The Cross della Vallagarina is an annual cross country running competition that is held in mid-January in Rovereto, Italy. The competition derives its name from the Vallagarina valley in which the city is located. It was first held in 1978 followin ...

, Montefortiana Turà and

Giro di Castelbuono The Giro di Castelbuono (officially Giro Podistico Internazionale Castelbuono) is an annual road running competition over 10 kilometres which takes place in Castelbuono, on the island of Sicily, Italy. First held in 1912, the competition, whic ...

competitions. She also finished in 13th place at the

1997 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1997 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on 23 March 1997. The races were held at the Parco del Valentino in Torino, Italy. A report of the event was given in ''The New York Times'', in the Herald, and for the IAAF. Compl ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

.Biography Barsosio, Florence

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 ...

. Retrieved on 2009-12-06. However, it was not until she began focusing on

in the early 2000s that she found greater success. At the start of 2000, Barsosio won in her debut marathon race,Women to Watch
.

(2000). Retrieved on 2009-12-06. taking the

with a time of 2:27:58. and she took the Scalata al Castello 10 km title in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

, Italy, soon after. She remained successful on the cross country circuit, with victories at the Cross de Caceres and the Cross Campaccio. She competed in the

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 ...

later that year and recorded a personal best time of 2:27:00 to take fifth place. The following year she won both the

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon (french: Marathon de Paris) is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the marathon with the second-most finishers in the world, behind the New York City Marathon. The marathon begins along the Champs ...

and

races and managed a sixth-place finish in the women's marathon at the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...

.Zorzi, Alberto (2004-11-29)
Florence honours fall to Florence

. Retrieved on 2009-12-06. She also took third at the

New York Mini Marathon 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 ...

, eleventh at the New York Marathon, and won the

. After two successful seasons of road running, she decided to take time away from competition to get married and have a child.

Return from pregnancy

She made her competitive return in 2004 and soon regained her international standing. She won the

Madrid Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon ( es, Maratón de Rock 'n' Roll Madrid) is an annual marathon race which takes place in Madrid, Spain, in late April. The event was first held in 1978 and has since gained IAAF Gold Label Road Race status and had ...

and finished in second place at the

Dublin Marathon The Dublin Marathon is an annual 26.2 mile (42.2 km) road marathon in Dublin, Ireland, held on the last Sunday in October. Prior to 2016, the race took place on the last Monday in October, which is a public holiday in Ireland. Held each year ...

. She ran virtually unopposed at the

Florence Marathon The Florence Marathon ( it, Maratona di Firenze) is an annual full-length marathon race held in late November in Florence, Italy, since 1984. History Established in 1984, the international competition has significantly grown in size since its ina ...

that year, beating second placed

Marcella Mancini Marcella Mancini (born 5 September 1971) is an Italian long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. A two-time Italian champion in the marathon, she has twice represented Italy at the international level – at the 2005 IAAF World Half Ma ...

by over five minutes. Barsosio's time of 2:29:11 was much faster than her previous outings and she was confident of returning to her full pre-pregnancy form for the following season. Continuing to focus on the marathon in 2005, she finished second to

Lidiya Grigoryeva Lidiya Grigoryeva (russian: Лидия Григорьева; born 25 January 1974 in Smychka, Chuvash ASSR) is a Russian long-distance runner from the Chuvashia region. Running career Grigoryeva won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the ...

at the Paris Marathon, although her time of 2:27:19 was her second fastest ever. A dominant performance followed at the

Vienna Marathon The Vienna City Marathon is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195 km held in Vienna, Austria since 1984. History The first edition was held on with a total of 794 competitors. It is Austria's largest road running event ...

: a high temperature affected all the runners, but she won the race by over eight minutes despite the fact that the race had no

pacemaker An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eith ...

. She closed the year with a second-place finish at the Taipei International Marathon in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, beaten to the title by Jane Ekimat Auro.December 2005 AIMS results
AIMS (2005). Retrieved on 2009-12-06. She took second place at the Madrid Marathon in 2006.

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

Major competition record

Other competitions

*1st – 2000

, 2:27:58 *1st – 2001

*1st – 2001

*1st – 2004

*2nd – 2004

*1st – 2004

*2nd – 2005

*1st – 2005

*2nd – 2005 Taipei International Marathon *2nd – 2006

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barsosio, Florence 1976 births Living people Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners Paris Marathon female winners Kalenjin people Kenyan female cross country runners