Joyce Chepkirui (born 20 August 1988) is a Kenyan

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 competes in

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 ...

events. She established herself as a half marathon runner, winning races in

Granollers Granollers () is a city in central Catalonia, about 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona. It is the capital and most densely populated city in the comarca of Vallès Oriental. Granollers is now a bustling business centre, having grown from a t ...

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

and

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. She set a best of 1:06:19 hours to win the 2014

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 ...

. She also competes in 10K road races and her personal best of 30:38 minutes makes her fifth fastest woman ever. Chepkirui began competing in

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 ...

in 2012 and won the Kenyan and African titles. She also competes on the track over

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 Athletic ...

and was the

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 ...

list at the

2011 All-Africa Games The 10th All-Africa Games took place between September 3–18, 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique. Maputo's hosting marked the third time the Games was held in the southern part of the continent. Host awarding In April 2005, Lusaka, Zambia was named t ...

Career

Chepkirui grew up in the Buret District of Kenya's Rift Valley Province. Her first international appearance came at the

2007 African Junior Athletics Championships The 2007 African Junior Athletics Championships was the eighth edition of the biennial, continental athletics tournament for African athletes aged 19 years or younger. It was held in Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest ...

, where she came fifth in the

. She made her debut in the half marathon in

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though ...

that November and finished as runner-up.Joyce Chepkirui
Tilastopaja. Retrieved 3 April 2012. She tried the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

in 2008, but managed only fifth at the national junior championships. She changed her focus to road running competitions the following year. She travelled to Spain and had top five finishes in a number of races, highlighted by a win in

Almodóvar del Río Almodóvar del Río is a city located in the province of Córdoba, Spain. References External linksAlmodóvar del Río- Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía Municipalities in the Province of Córdoba (Spain) {{A ...

with a time of 1:11:47 hours. At the end of the year she placed fourth in the 15K at Kenya's

Baringo Half Marathon The Baringo Half Marathon is an annual road running competition for men and women over the half marathon distance which takes place every December in Baringo, Kenya. The programme previously had a 15 kilometres race for women, but this was extend ...

2010

Chepkirui established herself as an elite level half marathon runner in 2010. She won a series of Spanish races, taking titles in

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

Torrevieja Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain. Torrevieja l ...

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-ea ...

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

and Logroño. She improved her best to 1:09:51 hours at the San Sebastián race and also won the

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

Granollers Half Marathon The Granollers Half Marathon (Catalan: ''Mitja Marató de Granollers'') is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance (21.097 km) which takes place in February in the city of Granollers in Catalonia, Spain. The race is ...

s. She was selected to represent Kenya at the

2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake. The Kenyan ...

and she ran a best of 1:09:30 hours to take fifth place and help Kenya to the team title. She closed the season with further wins in Spain, winning in Córdoba and setting another best of 1:09:25 hours at the Valencia Half Marathon. She ended the year with a win at the 15K Baringo race in Kenya.

2011

She began 2011 with a win at the Lago Maggiore Half Marathon, followed by a fourth-place finish at the

. She set a personal best and course record of 1:09:04 hours to win at the

Göteborgsvarvet Göteborgsvarvet () is an annual half marathon running competition in Gothenburg, Sweden (often called the Gothenburg Half Marathon in English). It is the largest annual running competition in the world in terms of entries, with its 62,000 ent ...

in Sweden in May, then ran a world leading time of 30:43 minutes for the 10K in Appingedam. Taking on a shorter distance, she managed to place second in the 1500 m at the

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 ...

. She won the

Bogotá Half Marathon The Bogotá International Half Marathon ( es, Media Maratón Internacional de Bogotá), or mmB as it is traditionally known, is an annual road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. Th ...

by a margin of twenty seconds, over runner-up

Mare Dibaba Mare Dibaba Hurrsa (born 20 October 1989) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She won the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing. Dibaba is not related to track Olympic champion and world record holder Tirunesh Dibaba. Biography He ...

. She won the

Tilburg 10K Tilburg Ten Miles is an annual road running competition held in Tilburg, Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Nether ...

in September and her time of 30:38 minutes was the fastest in the world that year and made her the fifth quickest ever over the distance. Chepkirui was chosen to compete for Kenya in the 1500 m at the

and she came away with a

behind her compatriot

Irene Jelagat Irene Jelagat (born 10 December 1988) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres. She won the gold medal at the 2006 World Junior Championships, with a personal best time of 4:08.88 minutes, and finished fifth at t ...

. She won the first women's half marathon title in Baringo with a course record of 1:10:57.1 minutes. The Zatopek 10 was her last outing of the year and she ran a

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 ...

best and course record of 31:26.10 minutes to continue her long-distance winning streak.

2012

Chepkirui decided to compete in cross country at the start of 2012 and had immediate success, winning the

Discovery Kenya Cross Country Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

meet and the national title at the

Kenyan Cross Country Championships The Kenyan Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running competition that serves as the national championship for Kenya. It is organised by Athletics Kenya and has permit race status from the International Association of Athletics ...

, before going on to win the

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 ...

and team title at the

2012 African Cross Country Championships The 2nd African Cross Country Championships was an international cross country running competition for African athletes which was held on 18 March 2012 in Cape Town's Keurboom Park in South Africa. Organised by the Confederation of African Athleti ...

. On the roads, she was runner-up at

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

World's Best 10K The World's Best 10K (WB10K) is a road race of 10 kilometers celebrated in San Juan, Puerto Rico every year. It is certified by the Association of International Marathons and Road Races (AIMS) and by the International Amateur Athletic Federati ...

, finishing behind the double reigning world champion

Vivian Cheruiyot Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and cross country running. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning a silver medal at the 5 ...

, and won at the Prague Half Marathon in a course record time of 1:07:03 hours. This made her the seventh fastest woman ever in the event. She attempted a

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 ...

debut at the

2012 London Marathon The 2012 London Marathon was the 32nd running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 22 April. Both of the elite races were won by Kenyan athletes, and Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede was the only non-Kenyan to re ...

, but failed to finish the distance. Chepkirui earned a place on the Kenyan Olympic team by coming second at the 10,000 m trials in June. At the Olympic women's 10,000 metres final she failed to finish the race.

2013

Chepkirui won the

at the start of 2013. Her debut over the

distance came at the

2013 London Marathon The 2013 London Marathon was the 33rd running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 21 April. The men's elite race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede and the women's race was won by Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo ...

, but she did not match her success over shorter distances and placed fifteenth overall with a time of 2:35:54 hours. A poor showing of 33:01 minutes for eighth came at the Ottawa 10K a month later, but she had a string of victories in the second half of the year, winning the Beach to Beacon 10K, Falmouth Road Race, Dam tot Damloop,

Singelloop Utrecht The Singelloop Utrecht is an annual road running event over which takes place on the streets of city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. It is typically held in either September or October The competition, which roughly translates as the ''Utrecht Can ...

and the

Grand 10 Berlin The Grand 10 Berlin is an annual road running event over ten kilometres which is held in October in Berlin, Germany. It is officially known as the ''ASICS Grand 10 Berlin'' due to its sponsorship by the sportswear manufacturer.

. Her run of 30:37 minutes in Berlin was a new personal best and the fastest ever on German soil for the 10K distance. A course record of 68:15 minutes at the Valencia Half Marathon followed a week later.

2014

Chepkirui improved her half marathon best at the Prague Half Marathon in April 2014, taking victory in a course record time of 1:06:19 hours. That year, she also won gold in the 10000 m at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

2015

Chepkirui won both New York Road Runners 10 km in May 2015 and Amsterdam Marathon in 2:24:10 in October 2015.

2016

Chepkirui finished second in the 2016

New York City Half Marathon The New York City Half Marathon (branded as the United Airlines NYC Half) is an annual half marathon road running race from Brooklyn's Prospect Park to Manhattan's Central Park via the Manhattan Bridge, held since 2006. It passes through o ...

on March 20 with a time of 1:07:41, narrowly beaten by Molly Huddle at the finish line. Chepkirui finished fourth in the 2016 New York City Marathon in 2:29:08.

Personal bests

– 4:08.80 (Nairobi, 16 JUL 2011) *

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 ...

- 15:58.31 (Marrakech, 14 SEP 2014) *

– 31:26.10 (Melbourne, 10 DEC 2011) *10K road – 30:37 (Berlin, 13 OCT 2013) * Half marathon – 1:06:18 hours (Praha, 05 APR 2014 ) *25 Kilometres 1:23:27 (Amsterdam, 18 OCT 2015) *30 Kilometres 1:40:15 (Amsterdam, 18 OCT 2015) *

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 ...

– 2:24:11 (Amsterdam, 18 OCT 2015)

International competition record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chepkirui, Joyce Living people 1988 births People from Rift Valley Province People from Kericho County Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners Kenyan female cross country runners Kenyan female steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Kenya Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games African Games silver medalists for Kenya African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 All-Africa Games African Cross Country Championships winners Australian Athletics Championships winners African Championships in Athletics winners