Lonah Korlima Chemtai Salpeter ( he, לונה צ'מטאי-סלפטר, , born 12 December 1988) is a

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

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i runner. She won the bronze medal in the

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 ...

at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

. At the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for men ...

, Chemtai took victory in the

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 ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and earned bronze in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. She won the

2020 Tokyo Marathon The 2020 Tokyo Marathon ( ja, 東京マラソン2020) was the fourteenth edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, and was held on Sunday, 1 March. A World Athletics Platinum Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event he ...

. Her personal best time for the marathon is 2:17:45, which when she ran it in 2020 made her the sixth-fastest woman in history (currently 11th), the second-fastest European all-time, and set a new Israeli national record. Chemtai represented Israel at the 2016 Rio and

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. As of November 2022 she held six Israeli national records over distances ranging from

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

to marathon.

Early and personal life

Lonah Chemtai was born and raised in

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

, a member of the tribe of the

Kalenjin Kalenjin may refer to: * Kalenjin people The Kalenjin are a group of tribes designated as Highland Nilotes and are descended from Maliri people ''(thus related to Daasanach of Ethiopia.)'' The Kalenjin are cousins with Datooga people of Tan ...

, and grew up in a small village without electricity or running water in

West Pokot County West Pokot County is a county of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kapenguria. The county covers an area of approximately 9,169.4 square kilometers and stretches a distance of 132 kilometers from North to South. West Pokot County is bordere ...

western Kenya After the 2013 general election, and the coming into effect of the new constitution, provinces became defunct and the country was now divided into 47 counties. Each county has its own government and therefore there is no central regional cap ...

."Kenyan-Born Lonah Chemtai to Represent Israel in Rio Marathon"
''The Jewish Press''. Retrieved on 26 August 2016.Lewis, Ori. (19 July 2016
"Kenyan-born runner Chemtai going the distance for Israel"
Reuters. Retrieved on 2016-08-26. She came to

in 2008, to work as a nanny for the children of Kenya's

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Israel residing in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

.Solomon, Shoshanna. (12 March 2016
"Tel Aviv's Kenyan-born marathon winner in race against time to run for Israel in Rio"
''The Times of Israel''. Retrieved on 2016-08-26. She met

i running coach Dan Salpeter in 2011, and the two married in 2014."Israeli Olympic profiles: Lonah Korlima Chemtai" – Israel News – ''Jerusalem Post''
Jpost.com (31 July 2016). Retrieved on 2016-08-26. The couple's son, Roy, was born in December 2014. The family resided in

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

Yanuv Yanuv ( he, יָנוּב, , ewill Come Forth) is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Sharon plain near Netanya and Tulkarm, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lev HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Before t ...

, in central Israel, and now resides in

Shoham Shoham ( he, שֹׁהַם, ''lit.'' onyx) is a town ( local council) in the Central District of Israel. The name relates to one of the 12 stones on the Hoshen, the sacred breastplate worn by a Jewish high priest (Exodus 28:20), similar to othe ...

in central Israel. Chemtai became an

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

in March 2016 on account of marriage to an Israeli citizen, eight years after she began residing in Israel, and a few days before the cut-off to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Running career

Chemtai's husband, an Israeli former middle-distance and mountain runner, is also her coach.Pileggi, Tamar. (17 March 2016
"After legal battle, Kenyan runner gets Israeli citizenship"
''The Times of Israel''. Retrieved on 2016-08-26. In her youth she ran shorter distances, and began running

s only after 2014. Her club is

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

2016–17

Chemtai came in first among the women in the 2016 Tel Aviv Marathon in 2:40:16, almost five minutes below the qualification time for the 2016 Olympics. She competed for

Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's sixteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Olympic Committee of Israel confirmed a team of 47 athletes, 22 men and 25 wom ...

in the

. By the 30th kilometer, her time put her in the top half of the runners, ranking her approximately 90th."Breastfeeding Was Downfall of Israeli Marathon Runner at Rio Olympics"
''Haaretz'' (20 August 2016). Retrieved on 2016-08-26. She left the race at the 33rd kilometer. She explained on Facebook: “Unfortunately, I was forced to stop by a shoulder problem. As you all know, I’m still nursing my 20-month-old son. During my training in Kenya, I tried to stop, but it caused me pain and a shoulder problem due to running with breasts full of milk. This limited me in the European championships in Amsterdam (a half-marathon) and happened again today. I promise to attain respectable achievements in the future and am going forward with head held high.” In the 2017 London World Championship Marathon, she ran a 2:40, coming in 41st.

2018–20

In May 2018, Chemtai won the European 10,000 m Cup in London, with a time of 31:33.03, a new Israeli national record. In July, she won the 1500 m at the Israeli National Championships with a time of 4:11.69. 2018 European Athletics Championships Day 4 (17)

2018 European Athletics Championships Day 4 (17)

On 8 August 2018, Chemtai won the

at the

in Berlin with a time of 31:43.29. She became the first Israeli athlete to win a gold medal at the championships. Four days later, Chemtai miscounted the number of laps in her second competition there and stopped a lap early by mistake in the 5000 metres race in which she had been in close second place, depriving her of a medal. On 25 November 2018, she won 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 in ...

, setting an Israeli national record and course record of 2:24:17. It was only her fifth marathon. As of November 2018 Chemtai also held Israeli national records for 1500, 3000, 5000, and 10,000 metres as well as the half marathon. In March 2019, she won the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon in Rome, Italy, with a time of 1:06:40. In April, she came in second in the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon in Prague, with a time of 1:06:09. On 5 May, she won the

Prague Marathon The Prague Marathon (also known as Prague International Marathon (PIM) and Volkswagen Prague Marathon) is an annual road marathon held in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic each May. It was founded in 1995 and has grown to become a si ...

, with a course record 2:19:46 time, clocking the 24th-best time for a woman in that distance in history, the third-best European time ever, and a new Israeli national record. In July, she won a silver medal in the 2019 European 10,000 m Cup in London, with an Israeli national record of 31:15.78. In September at the Tilburg Ten Miles in Netherlands, she broke the European record in the

10 kilometres 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

with a time of 30:04, the second-fastest women's time ever recorded for the distance, slicing 17 seconds off the previous record set by

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Maratho ...

in 2003. On 28 September, she ran the women's marathon at the IAAF World Championships in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

. In March 2020, Chemtai medalled in her first

World Marathon Major The World Marathon Majors (WMM) (known for sponsorship reasons as the Abbott World Marathon Majors) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races reco ...

as she triumphed in the women's elite race at the

Tokyo Marathon The is an annual marathon sporting event in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. It is a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon and one of the six World Marathon Majors. The latest edition of the race took place on . It is sponsored by Tokyo Metro. H ...

with a time of 2:17:45, setting a new course and Israeli record.

2021

In February, Chemtai won the Tuscany Camp Half Marathon in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

, Italy, with a time of 1:07:09. On 14 March, she won the Agmon Hahula Marathon in

Hula Valley The Hula Valley ( he, עמק החולה, translit. ''Emek Ha-Ḥula''; also transliterated as Huleh Valley, ar, سهل الحولة) is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior t ...

with a time of 2:22:37 and qualified to represent Israel at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. On 6 August, Chemtai stood 66th in the women's marathon at the Tokyo Games with a time of 2:48:31. She was in the front pack of runners with four kilometers to go when she had to pause due to menstrual cramps. She said:

2022

At the

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 ...

in August, Chemtai Salpeter won the bronze medal for Israel in the 10,000 metres race and set an Israeli record. In November, she placed second at 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 ...

, only seven seconds behind the debutante winner

Sharon Lokedi Sharon Lokedi (born March 10, 1994) is a Kenyan middle and long-distance runner. She won the 10,000 meters at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Lokedi has been a 10-time All-American & 12-time Big 12 champion, as of ...

Achievements

International competitions

Personal bests

– 8:42.88 (

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

2018) *

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 ...

– 14:59.02 (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

2019) *

– 30:46.37 (

2022) *

One hour run The one hour run is an athletics event in which competitors try to cover as much distance as possible within one hour. While officially recognized by World Athletics as a track event, it is rarely contested apart from occasional world record atte ...

– 18,571 metres (

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

2020) * 10 km – 30:05 (

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

2019) *

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 ...

– 1:06:09 (

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

2019) *

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 ...

– 2:17:45 (

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chemtai Salpeter, Lonah 1988 births Living people People from West Pokot County Israeli female marathon runners Israeli female long-distance runners Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners Olympic athletes of Israel Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships winners Israeli people of Kenyan descent Kenyan emigrants to Israel Naturalized citizens of Israel Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 20th-century Kenyan women 21st-century Kenyan women 20th-century Israeli women 21st-century Israeli women Tokyo Marathon female winners

Early and personal life

Running career

2016–17

2018–20

2021

2022

Achievements

International competitions

Personal bests

See also

References

External links