Patrick Tambwé (born 5 May 1975 in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

) is a Congolese-born French

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he competed in the Men's marathon, but did not finish. He twice represented the Democratic Republic of Congo in the marathon at the

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 ...

, but failed to finish on either occasion. He is the DR Congo national record holder in nine events, including the

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 shortcu ...

, marathon and

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 ...

. He gained French citizenship in 2011 and was the marathon gold medallist at the

2011 Military World Games The 2011 Military World Games ( pt, Jogos Mundiais Militares de 2011), officially known as the 5th CISM Military World Games ( pt, V Jogos Mundiais Militares do CISM), was hosted from July 15–24, 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 5th Military ...

Career

Early career

Born in

, he made two international appearances for his native country at the

, running the

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 ...

s in 1997 and 1999, although he failed to finish in either race. He broke four DR Congo national records on the

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

in the 2001 season, recording 1:50.39 minutes for the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

, 3:42.02 minutes for the

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 Athletic ...

, and 13:49.69 minutes for the

flat, as well as 8:41.92 minutes for the

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 ...

. He won the

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

marathon that year in a time of 2:16:25 hours. A

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

flat national record of 7:57.52 minutes came in June 2002. For that year onwards he began to focus more on

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

events, principally in France. He made four appearances in the marathon in 2002, coming 20th at the

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon (french: Marathon de Paris) is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the marathon with the second-most finishers in the world, behind the New York City Marathon. The marathon begins along the Champs ...

, fifth at the

Reims Marathon Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, and gaining victories in

Cancale Cancale (; ; Gallo: ''Cauncall'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is known as the birthplace of Saint Jeanne Jugan. Population Inhabitants of Cancale are called ''Cancalais'' in French. T ...

and

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Patrick Tambwe
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-04-07.

French Foreign Legion

Tambwé set a

national record of 63:06 minutes at the Clichy sur Seine Half Marathon – that year he signed up with the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

, joining the 40eRA Suippes regiment. He was allowed to continue with his running and in 2004 he was fourth at the

Humarathon The Humarathon is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place between Ivry-sur-Seine and Vitry-sur-Seine in France every Easter Weekend (usually April). First held in 1986,Civai, Franco et al (2012-04-16)Humarathon Association of ...

half, won the French half marathon title, set a DR Congo record of 2:08:55 hours to win the Mont St. Michel Marathon, then ran 2:10:11 hours for fourth at the high-profile

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

. He clocked a 20 km road national record of 58:53 minutes en route to a sixth-place finish at the 2005 Paris Marathon. The next year he managed only twentieth place at that race, but had a personal best and national record of 29:02 minutes in the

10K run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. He represented his club,

Lille Métropole Athlétisme Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

, at the

European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country The European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition between the European running clubs that are the reigning national champions for their country. It is often abbreviated to the name ECCC Cross Country. It i ...

and made three outings in the marathon, winning the Guldensporen Marathon,Patrick Twambe
Marathon Info. Retrieved on 2014-04-07. coming fourth in 2:15:29 at the

Brussels Marathon The Brussels Marathon is an annual AIMS-certified marathon held in Brussels, Belgium, first held in 1984, and usually held in the autumn. Races of shorter distances are also held on the same day. History The full race was first held in 1984. ...

and seventh at the

Singapore Marathon The Singapore Marathon is an annual international marathon race which is held on the first Sunday of December in the city of Singapore. It is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race. History The first competitive marathon in Singapore was held o ...

(his first Asian race). His 2008 season was highlighted by a third career win at the Mont St. Michel Marathon and a marathon win in

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

. He returned to win again in Tahiti in 2009, but was only eleventh at the Zurich Marathon. His last ever outing for DR Congo was at the 2011

Tiberias Marathon The Tiberias Marathon is an annual marathon road race held along the Sea of Galilee in Israel. At approximately 200 meters below sea level, this is the lowest course in the world. The competition was first held in 1977, and also hosts the annual I ...

, where he placed second in a time of 2:10:09 (his second fastest at that point). From April 2011 he began running for France, having earned citizenship through the Foreign Legion. He was ninth at the

Kuala Lumpur Marathon The KL Marathon is an annual marathon event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event was established in 1989. It is supported by the Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union (MAAU), Federal Territory Amateur Athletics Association (FTAAA) and Kuala Lump ...

, but managed to win his first international medal at the

, taking the marathon gold medal for France.

2012 Olympic performance

Keen to earn a spot on the French team for the

, he entered the Tiberias Marathon for a second year running and this time came out as winner, narrowly beating

Francis Kibiwott Larabal Francis Kibiwott Larabal (born 15 September 1978 in Kasiela, Baringo District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes professionally in half marathon and marathon races. Kibiwott was unusual for a Kenyan runner in that he did not compete ...

and setting a personal best of 2:07:30 hours. This was an "A" standard time and at the age of 37 he made his Olympic debut in the

. However, in his third top level performance in the distance, he again failed to finish the race. Nevertheless, his time from the Tiberias Marathon ranked him as Europe's top marathon runner that year. He struggled to regain his form and failed to finish the

Daegu Marathon The Daegu International Marathon is an annual marathon race which takes place in April in Daegu, South Korea. The day's events also feature a 5K event and a 10K event, as well as the full course marathon (42.195 km). The race begins and end ...

in 2013, ran 2:21:02 for 19th at the 2014

Hong Kong Marathon The Hong Kong Marathon (香港馬拉松), sponsored by Standard Chartered, Standard Chartered Bank, is an annual marathon race held in January or February in Hong Kong. In addition to the full marathon, a 10 km run and a half marathon ar ...

, then failed to finish at the Santiago de Chile Marathon in April.Biscayart, Eduardo (2014-04-07)
Beyene and Chepkorir win Santiago de Chile Marathon
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-04-07.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tambwe, Patrick Living people 1975 births Sportspeople from Kinshasa French male long-distance runners French male marathon runners French male steeplechase runners Democratic Republic of the Congo male marathon runners Democratic Republic of the Congo male long-distance runners World Athletics Championships athletes for the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to France Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion Olympic athletes of France Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics