Moses Kiptanui (born 1 October 1970) is a Kenyan
middle and
long distance athlete mostly famous for
3,000 m steeplechase in which he was the number one ranked athlete from 1991 to 1995 and three time
IAAF World Champion. Kiptanui was also the first man ever to run 3000m steeplechase in under eight minutes.
Career
Kiptanui emerged in 1991 as a relatively unknown athlete. He won several
IAAF Grand Prix races that season. He celebrated an especially spectacular victory in
Zurich where he fell on the track on the last lap but still won easily. He was known as a highly confident and somewhat cocky athlete, who was self-coached and driven by his own self belief.
His victory at the
1991 World Championships in Athletics
The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participa ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
therefore came as no surprise. To the great disappointment of many observers he was not included in the Kenyan team at the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. Kiptanui had failed to qualify at the Kenyan trials in Nairobi.
However, shortly after the Olympics he set a new world record over 3000m in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
with a time of 7:28.96 min. Only three days later he also broke the 3000m steeplechase world record in 8:02.08 in Zurich. The following year, he defended the World Championship title easily in Stuttgart. He won the steeplechase at the
1994 IAAF World Cup The 7th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 9–11, 1994, at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, Engl ...
.
In 1995 he broke the 5000m world record in
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 ...
in a time of 12:55.30 min (8 June). After collecting his third World Championship gold medal in
Gothenburg he also set the new 3000m steeplechase record in Zurich in a time of 7:59.18 min (16 August), the first man in history to ever dip under eight minutes for the 3000m steeplechase.
A year later, he missed out on an Olympic gold medal again when he came second in the final in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. He was defeated by fellow Kenyan
Joseph Keter
Joseph Keter (born June 13, 1969) is a former Kenyan athlete, winner of 3000 m steeplechase at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Born in Lessos, Nandi District, Joseph Keter, an officer of Kenyan Army, had only one good season throughout his athle ...
. The next year, at the
1997 World Championships in Athletics
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 19 ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, Kiptanui failed to win his fourth consecutive gold medal, but took silver. The winner was
Wilson Boit Kipketer
Wilson Boit Kipketer (born 6 October 1973 in Kenya) is a middle and long distance athlete most widely known for running the 3000 m steeplechase. On 13 August 1997, at the Weltklasse Zürich, he set the world record in the steeplechase at 7:5 ...
, also from Kenya.
He was still active in 2001 sighting the 2002 Commonwealth Games, but did not compete there. After retirement, he has been a running coach. In 2008 he coached the 2004 Olympic gold medalist,
Ezekiel Kemboi. He has also been the chairman of the Marakwet District branch of
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 tea ...
.
[Daily Nation, June 5, 2000]
Polls open a new chapter in KAAA
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His younger brother, Philemon Tanui, runs for University of Wyoming.
A school was built by Shoe4Africa to honor the lifetime achievements of Kiptanui. The Shoe4Africa Moses Kiptanui School was opened in 2012 at Kamoi district, Marakwet and has eight primary classes with 320 students. Two ancillary early childhood development classes were added in 2015.
Major achievements
*1990
** 1990 African Championships in Athletics - Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
.
***1500m gold medal
** 1990 IAAF World Junior Championships - Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
.
***1500m gold medal
*1991
**1991 World Championships in Athletics
The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participa ...
- Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, Japan.
***3000m steeplechase gold medal
**1991 All-Africa Games
The 5th All-Africa Games were held from September 20 to October 1, 1991, in Cairo, Egypt. Forty-three countries participated in eighteen sports.
For the first time the Games were held on a four-year cycle as planned. Egypt had hoped to use the G ...
- Cairo, Egypt.
***3000m steeplechase gold medal
*1993
**1993 World Championships in Athletics
The 4th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Neckarstadium, Stuttgart, Germany between 13 and 22 August with the participation of 187 nations. Having ori ...
- Stuttgart, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
***3000m steeplechase gold medal
*1994
**1994 Goodwill Games
The 1994 Goodwill Games was the third edition of the multi-sport event, created by Ted Turner, which was held in Saint Petersburg, Russia between July 23 and August 7, 1994. The event – designed to improve Soviet Union – United States relati ...
- Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
***5000m gold medal
*1995
** 1995 World Championships in Athletics - Gothenburg, Sweden.
***3000m steeplechase gold medal
*1996
**1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
- Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
.
***3000 m steeplechase silver medal
*1997
**1997 World Championships in Athletics
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 19 ...
- Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
.
***3000m steeplechase silver medal
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiptanui, Moses
1970 births
Living people
People from Elgeyo-Marakwet County
Kenyan male middle-distance runners
Kenyan male long-distance runners
Kenyan male steeplechase runners
Olympic male steeplechase runners
Olympic athletes of Kenya
Olympic silver medalists for Kenya
Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya
World Athletics Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
African Games gold medalists for Kenya
African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 All-Africa Games
World Athletics Championships winners
Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games