Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi (born 25 May 1982) is a Kenyan professional athlete, winner of the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Championships, the 2011 World Championships, the 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2013 World Championships and the 2015 World Championships. His 3000 m steeplechase best of 7:55.76 set at Monaco in 2011 places him as the sixth fastest of all time. This time is also the fastest non-winning time in history. He is one of only four men to have won both Olympic and World golds in the event, along with

Reuben Kosgei Reuben Seroney Kosgei (born 2 August 1979 in Kapcherop, Kenya), is a middle and long distance athlete mostly famous for 3000 m steeplechase in which he became the youngest ever winner of an Olympic gold medal in the event when at th ...

, Brimin Kipruto and Conseslus Kipruto. He is the only multiple gold medalist in both. He is the only athlete to have won four world championships in the steeplechase (which he won consecutively), and only the second athlete to win two Olympic titles in the event (after

Volmari Iso-Hollo Volmari "Vomma" Fritijof Iso-Hollo (5 January 1907 – 23 June 1969) was a Finnish runner. He competed at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics in the 3000 m steeplechase and 10000 m and won two gold, one silver and one bronze medals. Iso-Hollo was one of ...

Biography

Born in Matira, which is near

Kapsowar Kapsowar is a Town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya. Prior to March 2013, it was located in the former Rift Valley Province. In 1994, Kapsowar became the headquarters of the former Marakwet District. Prior to this, the Marakwet and Keiyo tribes w ...

Marakwet District Marakwet District is a defunct administrative district in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Its capital town was Kapsowar. The district had a population of 140.629. Local people are predominantly of the Marakwet tribe. The district was cr ...

, Kemboi graduated from Kapsowar Boys Secondary School in 1999. He did not take up athletics until after he left school, but was spotted by

Paul Ereng Paul Ereng (born 22 August 1966) is a former Kenyan athlete, and the surprise winner of the 800 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Born in Kitale, Trans-Nzoia, Kenya, Paul Ereng attended Starehe Boys Centre and School in Nairobi, Kenya. He wa ...

and won the African Junior Championships in 2001 despite falling.IAAF, 24 August 2004
Focus on Athletes – Ezekiel Kemboi (KEN)
/ref> Kemboi became African Junior Champion in 2001 and then in 2002, he finished second at 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 ...

behind compatriot

Stephen Cherono Saif Saaeed Shaheen ( ar, سيف سعيد شاهين), formerly Stephen Cherono (born 15 October 1982), is a steeplechase runner. He was born in Keiyo, Kenya but now he represents Qatar. He currently holds the world record for 3000 metre stee ...

. The same year Kemboi was originally fourth at the

African Championships in Athletics The African Championships in Athletics is a continental athletics event organized by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), the continental association for the sport in Africa. Since its inaugural edition in 1979 it was at first organise ...

, but was later awarded bronze after the winner Moroccan

Brahim Boulami Brahim Boulami ( ar, ابراهيم بولامي) (born April 20, 1972 in Safi) is a Moroccan athlete who set two world records in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, 7:55.28 and 7:53.17. The latter was overturned because he tested positive for ...

received a doping suspension. At the 2003 World Championships, Kemboi had a gruelling battle with former teammate Saif Saeed Shaheen (formerly Stephen Cherono) who represented his new country

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

, before Shaheen pulled away from the exhausted Kemboi to win by less than a second. Kemboi won the gold medal at the

2003 All-Africa Games The 8th All Africa Games were 5–17 October 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria. 53 countries participated in 23 sports. The main venue was the newly constructed Abuja Stadium. The organizing committee was headed by Nigerian Amos Adamu. Venues * Nation ...

. In the absence of Shaheen – the Kenyan Olympic Committee refused to waive the three-year eligibility delay for established athletes who switch nationalities – Kemboi rose to a main favourite status at the

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 ...

Olympics. The race went very much according to form, with the three Kenyans Kemboi, Brimin Kipruto and

Paul Kipsiele Koech Paul Kipsiele Koech (born 10 November 1981) is a Kenyan runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He won the 2004 Olympic bronze medal in this event. His personal best of 7:54.31 minutes is the third fastest of all time. He was b ...

pushing the pace from the second lap and soon leaving the rest of the field behind and Kemboi winning a gold medal 0.3 seconds ahead of Kipruto in a Kenyan sweep. In August 2005 he won a silver medal at the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

again behind Shaheen, and in March 2006 he won the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He finished second at the 2006 African Championships in Athletics, but was disqualified for improper hurdling. At the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...

he won his third successive silver medal, this time losing to Kipruto. Kemboi represented Kenya at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but managed only seventh – his worst performance on the global stage. He rebounded with a win at the 2009 World Championships (his first world championship gold medal) after three successive silvers and took silver at the 2010 African Championships the following year behind 2008 bronze medalist

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 ...

. He took to the road races of Italy in August 2010, beating Peter Kimeli to the tape to win the Corribianco race in

Bianco Bianco is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Reggio Calabria, in southern Italy. It is a seaside town and a popular tourist resort. The main attractions are the remainings of an old abbey and the ruins of a Roman house. See also *Calabri ...

, then taking the honours at the 8.5-kilometre Amatrice-Configno. He won the gold medal at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

in Daegu, South Korea. Kemboi won the gold medal for

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

in the 3000m Steeplechase in

London 2012 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 ...

. Kemboi won in a time of eight minutes 18.56 seconds. In 2013 he added his third straight gold medal at the World Championships. In 2015, he took his fourth successive title at the

2015 World Championships in Athletics The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...

. On August 17, 2016, he won a bronze medal for

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

in the 3000m Steeplechase in

Rio Olympics 2016 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

. He then announced his retirement after the win. Kemboi was later that day disqualified for stepping outside of the track. An investigation into the incident was instigated when the French Olympic team complained that the runner had stepped out of the track after his final water jump during the race. The bronze medal was subsequently awarded to French runner

Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (born 15 March 1985) is a French professional middle-distance runner of Algerian descent who mainly competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He has won medals in major international competitions such as the Olympic Ga ...

. He announced his retirement immediately following the Olympic race, but rescinded that decision after learning of his disqualification. He made one final attempt, making the finals at the 2017 World Championships, where he finished a disappointing 11th place.

Personal life

Kemboi is managed by Enrico Dionisi. Since 2002 he has owned a farm near Moi's Bridge, Trans-Nzoia District. He is married to Jane Kemboi with two sons. Since 2009 he has been coached by

Moses Kiptanui 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 al ...

, who is also his neighbour. His participation in the 2012 Olympics was initially put in doubt when he was charged with assault in June 2012, after a woman claimed he stabbed her after she refused his sexual advances.BBC, 28 June 2012
Kenyan athlete Ezekiel Kemboi charged over stabbing
/ref>

Achievements

References

External links