Martin Kiptolo Lel (born 29 October 1978) is a Kenyan professional long distance and

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 ...

runner. He won the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

in 2005, 2007, and 2008, the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

in 2003 and 2007 and the

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the Simplyhealth Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South ...

in 2007 and 2009. His personal best time, , is 2:05:15, which he ran in the 2008 London Marathon setting a course record. Lel is coached by Claudio Berardelli and lives in the

Rift Valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear d ...

region of Kenya. Lel ran his first marathons in 2002: he failed to finish at the Prague Marathon, but in his first finish he managed to claim second in the

Venice Marathon The Venice Marathon ( it, Maratona di Venezia) (stylized as Venicemarathon) is a marathon road race that has been held each year in Venice since 1986, usually in October. The course starts in Stra and passes through Mestre, , and Ponte della ...

. He won

Lisbon Half Marathon EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries IAAF Gold Label Road Race status. The men's course record of 57:31 was set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2021, whic ...

in 2003, 2006 and 2009, was 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 be ...

ist at the

2003 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 12th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 4, 2003 in Vilamoura, Portugal. A total of 171 athletes, 98 men and 73 women, from 49 countries took part. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were given ...

, and won the

Portugal Half Marathon Luso Portugal Half Marathon or Luso Meia Maratona de Portugal is an annual half marathon contested every October in Lisbon, Portugal. A new, faster course was established for the race in 2010 and 25 km record holder Mary Keitany duly respond ...

in 2005. He made his Olympic debut for Kenya at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

and came fifth in the marathon. He beat

Samuel Wanjiru Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (10 November 1986 – 15 May 2011) was a Kenyan long-distance runner who won the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon in an Olympic record time of 2:06:32; becoming the first Kenyan to win the Olympic gold in the marathon. He beca ...

to win the inaugural edition of the

Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is an annual international road running marathon hosted by New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States, since 1965. It is part of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series organized by Advance ...

in 2010. In August 2010 he ran at the

Falmouth Road Race The Falmouth Road Race is an annual road running, road race on Cape Cod from Woods Hole, a village in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Falmouth Heights. The race organizer is Falmouth Road Race, Inc., a 501(c) organization#501(c)(3), 501( ...

and took third place. After almost 3 years without running a marathon, he participated in the 2011 London Marathon as a replacement for Samuel Wanjiru, who was originally invited to run, but he still placed second with a time of 2:05:45, out-sprinting Patrick Makau at the finish line. He ran the 15K

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 ...

at the end of the year, but was beaten into fourth place. Lel entered two races the year after: he was runner-up again at the 2012 London Marathon (finishing in 2:06:51) and was victorious at the

with a time of 61:28 minutes.Lel and Jeptoo beat the heat in Lisbon - REPORT
IAAF (2012-09-30). Retrieved on 2013-01-27. In 2011 the American Charity, Shoe4Africa, funded and opened th

in Lel's home village, Kimn'geru, to honor the athlete. His brother, Cyprian Kimurgor Kotut, followed in his footsteps as a marathon runner and won the 2016 Paris Marathon.Kenya’s Cyprian Kotut wins Paris Marathon
''Daily Nation'' (2016-04-03). Retrieved on 2016-04-03.

Competition record

International competitions

Road races

References

External links

*

n°37 on ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

''’s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch" {{DEFAULTSORT:Lel, Martin 1978 births Living people People from Nandi County Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Half Marathon Championships winners London Marathon male winners New York City Marathon male winners