Lydia Cheromei (born 15 May 1977, in
Baringo District) is a Kenyan athlete born into a family of athletes. She specialises in
long distance running
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.
Within endurance running comes two d ...
. She rose to fame at the age of thirteen with a win in the junior race at the
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...
. She took some years away from competition, citing
burnout, and returned in the mid-nineties, making an appearance at the
1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Cheromei enjoyed success on the roads, taking wins at the
Saint Silvester Road Race
The Saint Silvester Road Race ( pt, Corrida Internacional de São Silvestre) is a long-distance running event, the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil.
Regarded as the main international event in Latin American athletics, the Brazi ...
and came sixth on the track at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
. She did not compete from 2001 to 2004 due to private problems, and missed another two years of competition after a positive
doping test
A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of d ...
in 2006.
Cheromei returned in 2008 and began competing in
marathons, followed by the Italian Coach Gabriele Nicola, taking a debut win at the
Amsterdam Marathon
The Amsterdam Marathon (branded Tata Consultancy Services, TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road running, road race has a IAAF Road Race Label Eve ...
.
Personal life
Lydia Cheromei is the fifth-born of seven children. She shares her passion for running with her parents and brothers
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
,
Jeremiah
Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewi ...
and
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. Her mother used to run six-minute miles, while her father in 2010 was still running seven-minute miles at the age of 72. Both her brothers Joseph and Jeremiah have represented Kenya at the
Olympics. David Cheromei says he was inspired to take racing seriously so he would not have to be embarrassed about being beaten by his sister. Fellow athlete and world record holder
Paul Tergat
Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...
is her cousin.
In September 2006 Lydia gave birth to a daughter, Faith Chelagat.
Career
Junior and burnout
Cheromei was
bronze medalist
A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
at the
World Junior Championships and won the junior category of the
World Cross Country Championships in 1991 at the age of 13. She won Kenyan trials for the
1991 World Championships, but was considered too young to compete in Tokyo. She was at the time coached by Sister Christine Heverin of Singore Girls Secondary School.
She was mostly inactive between 1994–1997, since the young runner had allegedly burnt out. She made a comeback but had another three-year break until 2004 due to personal problems.
Return to running and doping ban
Cheromei has three victories (1999, 2000 and 2004) at
Saint Silvester Road Race
The Saint Silvester Road Race ( pt, Corrida Internacional de São Silvestre) is a long-distance running event, the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil.
Regarded as the main international event in Latin American athletics, the Brazi ...
held annually in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. She won the 2004
Zevenheuvelenloop by running 47:02, the second best 15K time ever.
[
In 2006 Cheromei was found guilty of clomiphene doping. The sample was delivered on 24 February 2005 in an out-of-competition test in Eldoret. She received an IAAF suspension from May 2005 to May 2007. She claimed she was taking the substance under the prescription of her doctor as she was undergoing fertility treatment at the time of testing. The ban remained as she did not inform the relevant authorities of the information.
]
Marathon running
Cheromei won the 2008 Rotterdam Half Marathon The Rotterdam Half Marathon was an annual half marathon race over 21.1 kilometres, that was staged in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on the second Sunday in September. The event was contested from 2004 to 2009. It was discontinued in 2010 due to lacking ...
with a course record of 68:35; the previous record (69:13) had been set by herself in 2004 when she also won the event.
She had a successful marathon debut by winning the 2008 Amsterdam Marathon
The Amsterdam Marathon (branded Tata Consultancy Services, TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road running, road race has a IAAF Road Race Label Eve ...
and timing 2.25.27. In the 2009 Rotterdam Marathon
The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes ...
she finished 2nd behind Nailya Yulamanova
Nailiya Yulamanova (russian: Наиля Гайнуловна Юламанова; born 6 September 1980) is a Russian long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon.
She won the Saransk Marathon in 2006 and went on to finish twelfth at the ...
of Russia.
She ran at the 2011 Dubai Marathon
The Dubai Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics.
History
Initial era
The inaugural Dubai Marathon was held ...
and secured second place behind Aselefech Mergia
Aselefech Mergia Medessa ( Oromo: ''Asallafach Margaa Mardaasaa''; Amharic: አሰለፈች መርጊያ; born 23 January 1985) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. She was a bronze medallist in the event at the 2009 ...
– her time of 2:23:01 marked an improvement upon her previous best of more than three minutes. She broke the course record at the Prague Half Marathon in April and her winning time of 1:07:33 marked a career improvement for the distance of well over a minute. The following month she made a successful return to the city, winning the Prague Marathon in a course record time of 2:22:34, again a personal best. In October she won the Marseille-Cassis Classic with a course record run of 1:08:23 hours, but managed only fifth at 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 ...
the following month.
She was among the pre-race favourites at the 2012 Dubai Marathon
The Dubai Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics.
History
Initial era
The inaugural Dubai Marathon was held ...
in January, but finished in sixth place. However, she still improved her personal best by over a minute with a run of 2:21:30 hours in a fast field of women. She was the favourite to defend her title at the 2012 Prague Half Marathon and produced a personal best of 1:07:26 hours, but was beaten by Joyce Chepkirui
Joyce Chepkirui (born 20 August 1988) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running events. She established herself as a half marathon runner, winning races in Granollers, Bogotá and Gothenburg. She set a best of 1:06:19 h ...
. Returning to the Prague Marathon, she entered as the favourite and maintained a fast pace until 30K, but eventually dropped out a few kilometres from the finish suffering from a leg injury. She placed fourth at both the Lille Half Marathon and the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, which was her first international appearance in eight years. She ran a course record of 2:23:07 to win the Yokohama Women's Marathon in November.
She entered the 2013 Prague Marathon in the hope of emulating her win two years previously, but a hip problem left her in sixth place.
Achievements
Personal bests
*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 Athle ...
– 4:13.06 min (2000)
* 3000 metres – 8:29.14 min (2000)
* 5000 metres – 14:46.72 min (1997)
*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 ra ...
– 31:41.09 min (1992)
*10 kilometres – 31:33 min (2004)
*15 kilometres – 47:02 min (2004)
*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 shortcut ...
– 1:07:26 hrs (2012)
* Marathon – 2:21:30 hrs (2012)
See also
*List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences
The following is an incomplete list of sportspeople who have been involved in doping offences. It contains those who have been found to have, or have admitted to having, taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs, prohibited recreational drugs or ...
References
External links
*
Marathoninfo profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheromei, Lydia
1977 births
Living people
People from Baringo County
Kenyan female long-distance runners
Kenyan female marathon runners
Doping cases in athletics
Kenyan sportspeople in doping cases
Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of Kenya
African Games silver medalists for Kenya
African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Kenyan female cross country runners
African Games bronze medalists for Kenya
Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 All-Africa Games