Micah Kemboi Kogo (born 3 June 1986 in Burnt Forest,

Uasin Gishu District Uasin Gishu County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located in the former Rift Valley Province. Eldoret has the county's largest population center as well as its administrative and commercial center. “It lies between longitudes 34 degrees 50 ...

) is a Kenyan

long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling *Long-distance operator *Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths *Long-distance trail *European long-dista ...

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

, who specialises 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 ...

. He is the former

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in the 10 kilometres road race event with a time of 27:01. He made his first

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

appearance in 2008, taking the 10,000 m

bronze medal 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 ...

in Beijing. His 10000m best of 26.35 is 6th fastest of all time.

Early life

Born into a family of

subsistence farmer Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

s, Kogo first began running when he was a young child as this was the only way he could attend primary school. He began competing at district level in

Kewet Kewet was the brand name of a battery electric vehicle. Since 2007, it has been manufactured under the name Buddy by Elbil Norge in Oslo, Norway. From inception in 1991 through October 2013, total combined sales of the Kewet and Buddy totaled ...

, running in the

5000 5000 or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * A.D. 5000, the last year of the 5th millennium CE, an exceptional common year starting on Wednesday * 5000 BCE, a year in the 5th millennium BC * 5000s AD, a decade, century, millennium in the 6th ...

and

events. When he began high school, he continued to race at these distances, reaching both finals at the national secondary school championships. At this point, coach Sammy Rono noticed Kogo's athletic ability and offered to train him. Kogo accepted and, following his graduation from high school, he competed in the Discovery meet in

Eldoret Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population ...

, Kenya. They spent the majority of 2004 in training, preparing Kogo for forthcoming athletics seasons.James Wokabi and Mutwiri Mutuota (12 August 2008)
Focus on Athletes – Micah Kogo

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved 4 May 2009.

International career

Beginnings in Europe

He made his first impression on the international circuit in 2005 competing at a number of road races: he won the L'Escalade 8 km run, the

Corrida de Houilles The Corrida de Houilles, officially ''Corrida pédestre internationale de Houilles'' (Houilles International Footrace), is an annual 10K run that takes place at the end of December in Houilles, France. The competition was created in 1972 by Alexa ...

10 km run and the

Auckland Castle Auckland Castle, which is also known as Auckland Palace and to people that live locally as the Bishop's Castle or Bishop's Palace, is located in the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England. In 1832, this castle replaced Durham Castle as ...

10 km event. He also took second place at

La Provence ''La Provence'' is a French language daily newspaper published in Marseille, France. History and profile In 1997 ''La Provence'' was created in Marseille from the merger of two daily newspapers, '' Le Provençal'' of former Interior Minister Ga ...

10 km and at a meeting in

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Chepkoilel cross country events. He remained in winning form in the 2006 season, defending his title at the L'Escalade and Dunkirk cross country running events. On 25 August 2006 at the Memorial Van Damme meeting he ran a personal best of 26:35.63 minutes, reaching the top ten fastest times in the event. The next month he finished sixth in the

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 ...

race at the

2006 IAAF World Athletics Final The 4th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 9 and September 10, 2006. Results Men Women References External linksOfficial 4th IAAF World Athletics Final Site {{DEFAULTSO ...

. On 19 November 2006 he won the

Zevenheuvelenloop Zevenheuvelenloop (''Seven Hills Run'' in English) is an annual 15 kilometres road running race held in Nijmegen, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands;van Hemert, Wim & T ...

in and around

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

. Kogo finished in a time of 42:42 beating Abebe Dinkesa by a second, while

Bernard Kipyego Bernard Kiprop Kipyego (born 16 July 1986 in Keiyo District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. His personal best for the event is 2:06:22 hours. He has reached the podium at the Amsterdam Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Bo ...

and Zersenay Tadese both finished two seconds behind Kogo. On 1 April 2007 he won the 10 km road race at the

Parelloop Parelloop (''Pearl Run'' in English) is an annual 10 kilometres road running competition usually held in late March or early April in Brunssum, Netherlands. The inaugural edition was held in 1989. In 2009, Micah Kogo broke the world record for th ...

Brunssum Brunssum (; li, Broensem) is a municipality and a town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. The municipality of Brunssum has residents as of . Brunssum was a center of coal mining until 1973. Population centres Topography Histor ...

( Netherlands) in 27:07. It was the third fastest time over 10 km ever. On 20 May 2007 he won the BUPA Great Manchester Run in a time of 27:21.

Olympic medal and world record

On 4 May 2008, he won the annual Lilac Bloomsday Run in Spokane, Washington, a 12 kilometres race, with a time of 33:51— a new course record. Greater success laid on the track: he was selected to represent Kenya internationally for the first time and ran in the 10,000 m 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 ...

. Kogo was their best performer in the event, pipping

Moses Masai Moses Ndiema Masai (born 1 June 1986 in Kapsogom, Mount Elgon District) is a Kenyan runner who specializes in the 10,000 metres. Masai is from Bugaa village, four kilometres from Kapsokwony town. Born to John Barasa Masai and Leonida Cherop ...

to the Olympic

and winning his first major medal. He won another medal on the track at the

2008 IAAF World Athletics Final The 6th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart, Germany on September 13 and September 14, 2008. A number of road races also took place on the second day of competition. There were seven different starting po ...

the following month, taking the 5000 m bronze. In March 2009, Kogo broke Haile Gebrselassie's world record at 10 km by clocking 27:01 at the Parelloop race in the Netherlands. He was quoted as saying, "After running 27:07 in 2007 I always had it in my mind to come back and try for the world record on this course." He followed this up with a win at the Great Edinburgh Run, running a close race with defending champion

before taking 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 bee ...

in 28:13. He competed at the 2009 World Championships, finishing seventh in the 10,000 metres race. He closed his track season with a 5000 m

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, etc ...

behind Imane Merga at the

2009 IAAF World Athletics Final The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics m ...

. At the start of 2010 he won the Laredo 10 km race, but was second at the Paralloop, losing his title to

Martin Mathathi Martin Irungu Mathathi (born 25 December 1985 in Nyahururu) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who competes in track, cross country and road running events. Mathathi won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2007 World Championships in O ...

. He competed at the London 10,000 in May but again took the runner-up position, this time to British runner Mo Farah. Kogo's 10K world record was beaten by Leonard Komon in September 2010 and the

Grand 10 Berlin The Grand 10 Berlin is an annual road running event over ten kilometres which is held in October in Berlin, Germany. It is officially known as the ''ASICS Grand 10 Berlin'' due to its sponsorship by the sportswear manufacturer.

race two weeks later presented Kogo with an opportunity to go head-to-head with him. The victory went to Komon and Kogo had to content himself with fourth place in 28:24 (over a minute behind his rival). Kogo took a third career victory at the Parelloop in April 2011. Central Park's

UAE Healthy Kidney 10K The UAE Healthy Kidney 10K was an annual road running event over 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) that took place in May in New York City in the United States. The event featured both an elite-level men's race and a general mass race for fun runners. Almo ...

saw another match against Komon, but Kogo was second place behind him in the race. He topped the podium at the Beach to Beacon 10K in August, although he missed the course record after making a fast start. A personal best of 60:03 minutes for the half marathon came at the Great North Run, though he narrowly finished outside the top three. He tried to make the Kenyan Olympic team for a second time in 2012, but managed only ninth in the trial race at the Prefontaine Classic. The highlights of his season came at the Peachtree Road Race (where he was runner-up in 27:39 minutes), then two strong performances on the British circuit, where he won the

Great Birmingham Run The Great Birmingham Run is an annual half marathon road running event held in Birmingham, UK in October. Formerly known as the Birmingham Half Marathon, from 2011 it became part of the Great Run series of road races. Established in 2008, it in ...

and came runner-up by a second to Wilson Kipsang at the Great North Run, recording a personal best of 59:07 minutes. In 2013, Kogo made his marathon debut, finishing second at the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

in 2:10:27. He improved his time to 2:06:56 when finishing fourth in Chicago. Kogo came in first place in the 2013 Beach to Beacon 10K in

Cape Elizabeth, Maine Cape Elizabeth is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The town is part of the Portland, Maine, Portland–South Portland, Maine, South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, Biddeford, Mai ...

. His time was 28 minutes, 3.2 seconds. This is his second win at the Beach to Beacon 10K. He also won the Falmouth Road Race in 2013. Kogo is based at the PACE Sports Management training camp in

Kaptagat Kaptagat is a human settlement in Uasin Gishu County, in the southwestern part of Kenya. This part of the country, where the two counties of Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet County share a border, is used by the majority of Kenyan professional l ...

Achievements

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.Kogo Micah biography

. Retrieved on 4 May 2009.

References

External links

*
Focus on Athletes article
from IAAF {{DEFAULTSORT:Kogo, Micah 1986 births Living people People from Uasin Gishu County Kenyan male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Kenya Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)