Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino (born 17 January 1940) is a retired Kenyan
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping even ...
athlete. He was the chairman of the
Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time
Olympic 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 be ...
ist, Keino was among the first in a long line of successful
middle and
long
Long may refer to:
Measurement
* Long, characteristic of something of great duration
* Long, characteristic of something of great length
* Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate
* Longa (music), note value in early music mensu ...
distance runners to come from the country and has helped and inspired many of his fellow countrymen and women to become the
athletics force that they are today. In 2000, he became an honorary member of the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC). In 2012, he was one of 24 athletes inducted as inaugural members of the
IAAF Hall of Fame
The IAAF Hall of Fame was established by the International Association of Athletics Federations (since 2019: ''World Athletics'') in 2012. It is intended to honor individuals who have made valuable contributions in the sport of athletics both inter ...
.
Early life
Keino was born in Kipsamo,
Nandi District
Nandi County is a Counties of Kenya, county in Kenya in the North Rift, occupying an area of 2,884.4 square kilometres. Its capital, Kapsabet, is the largest town in the county while other towns include Mosoriot, Tinderet Constituency, Tinderet ...
,
Kenya
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...
. His name, ''Kipchoge'', is a
Nandi language expression for "born near the grain storage shed". His parents died when he was a youngster and he was raised by an aunt. After finishing school, he joined the
Kenya Police
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[Legendary runner with a heart of gold](_blank)
''Daily Nation'', 27 August 2007. Before taking up
athletics, he played
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
.
Athletic career
He began his international career at the
1962 Commonwealth Games
The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth. T ...
in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia where he came eleventh in the three miles. At the
1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...
he finished fifth in 5000 m and just missed qualification for the 1500 m final.
On 27 August 1965, Keino lowered the 3000 m
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
by over 6 seconds to 7:39.6 in his first attempt at the distance. He won two gold medals (1500 and 5000 metres) at the
inaugural All-Africa Games. Later in that year, he broke the 5000 m world record held by
Ron Clarke
Ronald William Clarke, AO, MBE (21 February 1937 – 17 June 2015) was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable for ...
, clocking 13:24.2. At the
1966 Commonwealth Games in
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Interna ...
, he won both the
mile run
The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race.
The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch t ...
and three-mile run. In the next Commonwealth Games, Keino won the 1500 metres and was third in the 5000 metres.
At the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of M ...
, he won the
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 Athlet ...
gold medal (defeating
American favourite and world record holder
Jim Ryun
James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the ...
by 20 metres, the largest winning margin in the history of the event) and
5000 m
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 stand ...
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, et ...
. Four years later, he won the 3000 metres steeplechase gold and 1500 metres silver at the
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Germany. He retired in 1973.
He is on the cover of the October 1968 issue of ''
Track and Field News
''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runnin ...
'', the first issue following the Olympics. He shared the cover of the September 1969 issue with
Naftali Bon.
After athletics
* With his wife,
Phyllis Keino, he has dedicated significant efforts to humanitarian work in Eldoret, Kenya. They have established the Lewa Children's Home for orphans, th
KipKeino Primary Schoolin 1999, and the Kip Keino Secondary School in 2009.
* For his work with orphans, he shared ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' magazine's "
Sportsmen and Sportswomen of the Year" award in 1987 with seven others, characterized as "Athletes Who Care". In 1996,
Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret was named after him.
* In 2007, he was made an honorary Doctor of Law by the
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...
. Earlier,
Egerton University
Egerton University is a public university in Kenya. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Kenya.
Location
The main campus of the university is located in Njoro, a small community approximately , southwest of the town of Nakuru. T ...
in
Nakuru
Nakuru is a city in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitant ...
had awarded him an honorary degree. In July 2012, he received further recognition from the City of Bristol after the Kenyan Olympic Committee, under his presidency, made Bristol the training base for its athletes in preparation for the
London 2012 Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. In 2012, Kipchoge Keino was among the inductees in the IAAF Hall of fame. The
Bristol City Council
Bristol City Council is the local authority of Bristol, England. The council is a unitary authority, and is unusual in the United Kingdom in that its executive function is controlled by a directly elected mayor of Bristol. Bristol has 34 wards ...
awarded him freedom of the city, making him the first to receive this honour from Bristol since
Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
* On 5 August 2016, at the
Olympic opening ceremony
The Olympic Games ceremonies of the Ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of these Games; the modern Olympic games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the Ancient Games from ...
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Keino was awarded the first
Olympic Laurel, for outstanding service to the Olympic movement.
* On 14 May 2021, Jovian asteroid
39285 Kipkeino, discovered by astronomers at
Spacewatch
The Spacewatch Project is an astronomical survey that specializes in the study of minor planets, including various types of asteroids and comets at University of Arizona telescopes on Kitt Peak near Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The Spa ...
in 1997, was .
Personal life
Keino resides on a farm in Eldoret, Kenya where he controls and runs a
charitable organization
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a cha ...
for orphans. He is married to Phyllis Keino. Their son Martin was a two-time
NCAA champion and highly successful pace-setter.
See also
*
References
External links
* https://kipkeinofoundation.org/
Beijing 2008 dazzles, as we 'flashback' to the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and a triumphant Kipchoge Keino Posted On: 2008-08-08.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keino, Kipchoge
1940 births
Living people
People from Nandi County
Kenyan male long-distance runners
Kenyan male middle-distance runners
Kenyan male steeplechase runners
International Olympic Committee members
Olympic athletes of Kenya
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for Kenya
Olympic silver medalists for Kenya
Laureus World Sports Awards winners
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Kenya
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Kenya
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
Recipients of the Olympic Order
Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
African Games gold medalists for Kenya
African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1965 All-Africa Games
Humanitarians
20th-century Kenyan people
21st-century Kenyan people