Hellen Chepngeno (born August 2, 1967 in Kitopen, Bomet District) is a retired athlete from

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

best known for winning gold at the 1994 World Cross Country Championships She started her career while at Kitopen Primary School. She finished 2nd at the Kenyan cross-country championships in 1991 behind Tegla Loroupe. Chepngeno was selected to compete at the

1991 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1991 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Antwerp, Belgium, at the Linkeroever Racecourse on March 24, 1991. A report on the event was given in ''The New York Times''. Complete results for senior men, junior men, senior w ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium, but finished only 46th. In 1992 she won the Kenyan trials for the

1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, at the Franklin Park on March 21, 1992. A report on the event was given in ''The New York Times''. Complete results for senior men, junior men, ...

. She finished 15th at the World Cross Country Championships held in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, United States and was part of the Kenyan gold-medal winning team. She did not make the Kenyan team for the 1993 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, but she won a bronze medal at the 1993 African Championships. The 1994 World Cross Country Championships were held in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

, Hungary where she became the first Kenyan woman to win an individual World Cross Country Championships gold medal. Later she suffered from injuries and was not able to repeat her earlier success.IAAF, March 20, 2007
''A Kenyan XC legend - Helen Chepngeno''
/ref> She was still competing in 1999. During her running career, she was a corporal in the Kenya Prisons, which is famous for recruiting promising Kenyan athletes. Before starting running, she did

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

and javelin throw. She keeps a plot in Kitopen bought with her prize money. She is not married but has two sons, one of whom was four years old in 1994. She remained the only Kenyan national to win the long race at the World Cross Country Championships, until 2009 when

Florence Kiplagat Florence Jebet Kiplagat (born 27 February, 1987) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time world champion, having won at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships ...

won the race.IAAF, March 28, 2009
Senior Women’s Race Report - Amman 2009
/ref>

International competitions

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chepngeno, Hellen 1967 births Living people Kenyan female long-distance runners World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners People from Bomet County Sportspeople from Rift Valley Province Kenyan female cross country runners