Milcah Chemos Cheywa (born 24 February 1986 in Bugaa,

Mount Elgon District Mount Elgon District (Mt. Elgon District) was an administrative district in the Western Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kapsokwony. In 2010, it was merged into Bungoma County. Geography and demographics The district was located on southea ...

) is a runner from

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

who specialises in

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

. She was, until 2015, African record holder at the distance and is the gold medalist of the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

Early life

She is from Bugaa village, but moved to

Kitale Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills at an elevation of around . Its population is 106,187 as of 2009. Kitale is the headquarter town of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is r ...

with her family, where she went to Matumbei and St Phillips primary schools. Later she went to St Claire's Girls High School in

Maragoli The Maragoli, or Logoli (''Ava-Logooli''), are now the second-largest ethnic group of the 6 million-strong Luhya nation in Kenya, numbering around 2.1 million, or 15% of the Luhya people according to the last Kenyan census. Their language is ...

.Daily Nation, 25 August 2009
Milcah, fresh from New KCC
Retrieved 17 August 2009. After schooling she went to the

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

(KPC) in

Kiganjo Kiganjo is a small town in Kenya's Nyeri county. It hosts the Kenya Police College which is Kenya's main college for police training. Kiganjo also hosts one of the Kenya Cooperative Creameries KCC (now New KCC) and a milk depot for the Brookside M ...

in 2005. There she met Alex Sang and soon married. He urged her to start running, but she did not start serious training until 2008. Initially racing over 800 and 1500 metres, she finished 7th in the 800 metres at the 2008 Kenyan Olympic trials, 12 seconds behind the winner

Pamela Jelimo Pamela Jelimo (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner, specialising in the 800 metres. She won the gold medal in 800 metres at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing at the age of 18. She is the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gol ...

.The Standard, 13 August 2009
Introducing Milka

Career

2009

Chemos converted to steeplechase running in March 2009, after being introduced to the discipline by

Richard Mateelong Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong (born 14 October 1983) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metre steeplechase. He won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he has two World Champ ...

, the Olympic steeplechase medalist posted at KPC. She won her debut race, at the

Athletics Kenya Athletics Kenya (AK) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (track and field) in Kenya. It is a member of World Athletics and Confederation of African Athletics. AK organises athletics competitions held in Kenya. It also sends Kenyan team ...

meeting in

Kakamega Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of Kakamega County that has a population of 1,867,579 (2019 census). Kakamega is 52 km north of Kisumu, the tenth largest city in Ken ...

, timing 9:54.4, and soon improved her PB to 9:22.33 at the

KBC Night of Athletics The KBC Night of Athletics ( nl, Nacht van de Atletiek) is an annual athletics event at the Stadium De Veen in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. It is officially presented and sponsored by the KBC Bank KBC Group is a Belgian universal multi-channel ban ...

meeting in

Heusden-Zolder Heusden-Zolder (; li, Heuze-Zolder ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian Limburg (Belgium), province of Limburg near Hasselt. On 1 January 2006 Heusden-Zolder had a total population of 30,769. The total ar ...

, Belgium. Competing in the 2009 World Championships, she won a bronze medal in a personal best 9:08.57, behind

Marta Domínguez Marta Domínguez Azpeleta (born 3 November 1975) is a Spanish former runner and politician. She competes mainly in the steeplechase. She has represented Spain four times at the Olympics and has competed at the World Championships on six occasio ...

and

Yuliya Zarudneva Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova ( rus, Юлия Михайловна Зарипова, née Ivanova ( rus, Иванова), divorced Zarudneva ( rus, Заруднева); born 26 April 1986 in Svetly Yar, Volgograd Oblast) is a Russian former midd ...

. Dominguez was disqualified afterward for a doping violation.

2010

In 2010, Chemos won gold medals in the 3000 metre steeplechase at the

African Championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships ;Athletics *African Championships in Ath ...

and the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, heading a Kenyan clean sweep of the medals in the latter. She also took

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

victories in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Eugene and

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 ...

, en route to capturing the overall Diamond League title in the steeplechase. As a result of her successes during the 2010 season, Chemos was one of five females shortlisted for the

IAAF World Athlete of the Year The World Athlete of the Year award is a prize that can be won by athletes participating in events within the sport of athletics (sport), athletics organised by World Athletics (formerly named IAAF), including track and field, cross country running ...

award, won by high jumper

Blanka Vlašić Blanka Vlašić (; born 8 November 1983) is a Croatian former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump. She is a two-time world champion and double Olympic medallist who ranks as the joint second highest female jumper of all time ...

2011

Chemos entered the 2011 World Championships in

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

as favourite for the 3000 metres steeplechase, having won all five of the

races in which she had competed prior to the championship. However, she was unable to improve upon her bronze medal of two years previous, finishing in third place, over 10 seconds behind race winner

Yuliya Zaripova Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova ( rus, Юлия Михайловна Зарипова, née Ivanova ( rus, Иванова), divorced Zarudneva ( rus, Заруднева); born 26 April 1986 in Svetly Yar, Volgograd Oblast) is a Russian former middl ...

. Chemos subsequently lost again to Zaripova at the final Diamond League meeting of the season – the

Memorial Van Damme The Memorial Van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, that takes place in late August or early September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now the final event of the Diamond L ...

in Brussels – but the Kenyan had already established an unbeatable lead in the Diamond Race standings and thus retained her title.

2012

At the start of 2012, Chemos ran at the

Cross de San Sebastián The Cross Internacional de San Sebastián, also known as the ''Cross Internacional de Donostia'', is an annual cross country running event which is staged in late January in San Sebastián, Spain. The competition was first held in 1956 as a men's ...

and was the runner-up behind Nazareth Weldu. She began the

2012 IAAF Diamond League The 2012 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2012 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the third edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 11 May in Doha, Q ...

season in dominant fashion, winning the steeplechase in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, Eugene and Oslo. At the third of these victories, Chemos broke the African 3000 metre steeplechase record of

Eunice Jepkorir Eunice Jepkorir Kertich (born 17 February 1982) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the steeplechase. She was the 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the event and bronze medalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. She ...

, winning in a new personal best and Bislett Games record time of 9:07.14. In 2013, she won women's 3000m Steeplechase at the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

, clocking in 9:36.16.

Personal life

Her husband Alex Sang is a middle-distance runner. They have a daughter as of 2010. Like Milcah, running siblings

Linet Masai Linet Chepkwemoi Masai (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won her first world title in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. ...

and

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 ...

are from Bugaa village.

International competitions

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chemos, Milcah 1986 births Living people People from Western Province (Kenya) Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Kenya Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Kenya Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya World Athletics Championships medalists Diamond League winners World Athletics Championships winners Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games