Julius Kariuki (born June 12, 1961) is the winner of the 3,000 m steeplechase at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. Born in

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 ...

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

, Kariuki's athletic career started slowly. He made his international debut at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, where he finished seventh in the 3000 m steeplechase. The following year, Kariuki won the steeplechase at the

African Championships in Athletics The African Championships in Athletics is a continental athletics event organized by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), the continental association for the sport in Africa. Since its inaugural edition in 1979 it was at first organised ...

, and then followed that up with a victory in a slow race at the

IAAF World Cup The IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field competition organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event was proposed by IAAF former President Primo Nebiolo and was first held in 1977 as t ...

. At the

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, Kariuki was mostly considered as the third-string Kenyan runner, but in the final, after a very fast start, Kariuki and his fellow countryman

Peter Koech Peter Koech (born February 18, 1958) is a former long-distance runner from Kenya who won a silver medal in the 3,000 meters steeplechase event at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He held the world record in this event for over three years, running 8 ...

broke clear, and a lap later, Kariuki sped away from his more experienced teammate, and went on to win the gold medal. He slowed down in the last few metres and finished in a time of 8:05.51, just outside

Henry Rono Henry Rono (born 12 February 1952, in Kapsabet) is a Kenyan retired track and field athlete who specialised in various long-distance running events. Although he never competed at the Olympics, Rono is remembered as one of the most prolific coll ...

's world record of 8:05.40. In 1989, Kariuki won the 10,000 m at the

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

and the 3000 m steeplechase again in the IAAF World Cup. In 1990, he won gold easily 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 ...

and finished fourth at the following year's World Championships. Kariuki remained one of the world's top steeplechasers for several more years after that, but the dominance of Kenyan talent was so great, that he was never able again to gain representation on the national team to a major international championship.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kariuki, Julius Kenyan male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Olympic gold medalists for Kenya Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Kenya 1961 births Living people Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Junior college men's track and field athletes in the United States Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for Kenya Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade