Francis Kibiwott Larabal (born 15 September 1978 in Kasiela,

Baringo District Baringo County is one of the 47 counties in Kenya. It is located in the former Rift Valley Province. Its headquarters and largest town is Kabarnet. The county is home to Lake Baringo. Geographical location Baringo bounded by Turkana County and ...

) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes professionally in

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 ...

and

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. Kibiwott was unusual for a Kenyan runner in that he did not compete extensively in his youth. He began training in seriousness in his twenties, moving to

Nyahururu Nyahururu (formerly known as Thomson's Falls) is a town in Kenya, lying north east of Nakuru. The town derives its name from the Maasai people, Maasai word e-naiwurruwurr, meaning waterfall and/or windy or place of storms. It is located in Laikipia ...

. His first European races came at the 20 van Alphen: he was 13th in 2002 and improved to third place the following year.Wokabi, James & Mutuota, Mutwiri (2007-10-10)
Focus on Athletes - Francis Kibiwott

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 2012-01-15. He won the 2003

Dam tot Damloop Dam tot Damloop (''Dam to Dam Run'' in English) is an annual road running competition held in North Holland in the Netherlands. It is a Silver Label 10-mile race from Amsterdam to Zaandam. The event was first held as a fun run event in 1985 and ...

held between

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Za ...

, finished in second position in 2004, then won his second title in 2005. His time (45:27) during his second win was the world's fastest time in a 10-mile race that year, out-sprinting the world half marathon champion

Fabiano Joseph Naasi Fabiano Joseph Naasi (born December 24, 1985, in Babati Babati, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is a town in Babati Urban District of Manyara Region of Tanzania. It is the administrative capital of Babati Urban District a ...

.Kenyans run away with marathon titles
sports.yahoo.com The race was his first after a long period of injuries and he only started training in July 2006 again. In 2006 he also managed to win the

Delhi Half Marathon Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Rac ...

in a new course record. He won the

Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race The Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race is an annual 11.25 km mountain running competition that takes place in late November in Obudu, Cross River State, Nigeria. First held in 2005, it has the largest total prize money available of any mo ...

, winning US$50,000 and breaking the course record by five minutes in the process. He also won the

Route du Vin Half Marathon The ING Route du Vin Half Marathon (french: ING Route du Vin Semi-Marathon) is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance (21.1 km/13.1 mi) which takes place in late September in Remich, Luxembourg. It is organised ...

that year. In 2007 he was fourth at the

RAK Half Marathon Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. History The first event, in 2007, saw Samuel Wanjiru breaking the world record, but Wanjiru himself set a new world record only a month later in ...

, then was runner-up at the

Berlin Half Marathon The Berlin Half Marathon is a major endurance event held annually in early spring in Berlin, Germany. Besides the runner's main race, the event includes a race for inline skaters, wheelchair athletes and handbikers. All athletes use the same co ...

. He competed at the

2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships The 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Udine, Italy on 14 October 2007. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were given both for the men's race and for the women's race. Medallists Race results ...

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

, Italy, finishing 45th. He made a move up to the marathon distance after that season and made his debut at the 2009

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 ...

, where he recorded a time of 2:09:13 hours for 12th place in the high calibre race. He improved his best to two hours and nine minutes at the

JoongAng Seoul Marathon The JoongAng Seoul Marathon is an annual footrace that takes place in Seoul, South Korea, usually in early November. First held in 1999, the race was established as a commemoration of Olympic marathon race which was held as part of the 1988 Seoul ...

later that year, a time which brought him his first win over the distance. He was ninth at the Paris race in 2010 and came fifth at 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 ...

in 2011. His first outing of 2012 was at the

Tiberias Marathon The Tiberias Marathon is an annual marathon road race held along the Sea of Galilee in Israel. At approximately 200 meters below sea level, this is the lowest course in the world. The competition was first held in 1977, and also hosts the annual I ...

and he was just two seconds behind the winner

Patrick Tambwé Patrick Tambwé (born 5 May 1975 in Kinshasa) is a Congolese-born French long-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Men's marathon, but did not finish. He twice represented the Democratic Republic of Congo in the marat ...

, ending the course as the runner-up with a personal record of 2:07:32 hours. He followed this with a course record win in 2:09:05 hours at the

Nagano Marathon The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon ( ja, 長野オリンピック記念長野マラソン) is an annual marathon road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition. The Nagano Ma ...

Race wins

*2003

(45:44) *2006

(45:27) *2006

(1:01:36) HUTCH DELHI HALF MARATHON 2006
indiatimes.com *2009

(2:09:00) *2012

(2:09:05)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Larabal, Francis Kibiwott 1978 births Living people People from Baringo County Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners