Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku (born 9 October 1992 in

Machakos Machakos, also called Masaku is a town in Kenya, southeast of Nairobi. It is the capital of the Machakos County, Kenya. Its population is rapidly growing and was 150,041 as of 2009 and Machakos County had a population of 1,421,932 as of 201 ...

) is a Kenyan middle- and

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 in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

Career

Born in

, he was the son of a javelin thrower, David Ndiku, but he decided not to follow his father and focused on running instead.Butler, Mark (2010-03-28)
Front running pays off for Ndiku – Men's Junior race report – Bydgoszcz 2010

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 fo ...

. Retrieved on 2010-03-31. He began his career in domestic

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

competitions and 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 tea ...

series meeting in

Meru Meru may refer to: Geography Kenya * Meru, Kenya, a city in Meru County, Kenya ** Meru County, created by the merger of *** Meru Central District *** Meru North District *** Meru South District * Meru National Park, a Kenyan wildlife park Tanz ...

, he took fifth place in the junior men's race at the age of sixteen. He won selection for the

2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics is the sixth edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics. They were held at Brixen-Bressanone Sport Arena in Bressanone, Italy from 8–12 July 2009. Athletes had to be aged 16 or ...

with a personal best run in 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 Athle ...

at the Kenyan youth trials. At the championships in

Brixen Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic an ...

, he ran 3:38.42 to win the silver medal behind compatriot Gideon Kiage Mageka. Ndiku returned to the Kenyan cross country circuit at the end of the year, and finished fourth at another Athletics Kenya series race in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

. Ndiku earned himself a place on the Kenyan junior men's team for the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships with a third-place finish in the junior race at the Kenya National Cross Country Championships. In the world junior men's race in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with mor ...

the following month, he formed part of the leading pack before quickening the pace to establish a significant lead. He won the junior title and also headed the Kenyan runners to the team gold as the country grabbed the top four spots. Ndiku took his second title of the year at the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes under the age of 20 which was held at the Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from 19 to 25 July 2010. A total of 44 athlet ...

, where he ran a personal best of 3:37.30 minutes to win the 1500 m world junior crown. He won the Most Promising Kenyan Sportsman of the Year award at the end that December. In 2011 he started his technical collaboration with the Italian coach Renato Canova, who planned for him a strategy looking at 5000m. He began competing in senior competitions the following year and was runner-up at the

Trofeo Alasport The Trofeo Alasport, also known as the Cross di Alà dei Sardi, is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in March in Alà dei Sardi on the Italian island of Sardinia. Unusually for a high-profile cross country event, it has ...

cross country in March, second only to the newly elected world champion

Imane Merga Imane Merga Jida (ኢማነ መርጋ ጂዳ) (born 15 October 1988) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres. He won his first world title at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships ...

.Sampaolo, Diego (2011-03-28)
Another cross country win for World champion Merga – Alà dei Sardi report

. Retrieved on 2011-03-29. In 2014 he had a very impressive season, winning everything possible : World Indoor Championships in 3000m, Commonwealth Games (27 July) in 5000m, African Championships (14 August) in 5000m, the Diamond League in 5000m (with two victories in Eugene and Zurich), and the Continental Cup in 3000m (14 September), becoming the number one of 5000m for the ranking of Track and Field.

Competition record

¹Representing Africa

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ndiku, Caleb Mwangangi 1992 births Living people People from Machakos County Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male middle-distance runners Kenyan male cross country runners Olympic athletes of Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Kenya Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya World Athletics Championships medalists African Games gold medalists for Kenya African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 All-Africa Games Diamond League winners World Athletics Indoor Championships winners IAAF Continental Cup winners 21st-century Kenyan people