Paul Ereng (born 22 August 1966) is a former

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

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...

, and the surprise winner of the 800 metres at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. Born in

Kitale Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills at an elevation of around . Its population is 106,187 as of 2009. Kitale is the headquarter town of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is r ...

, Trans-Nzoia, Kenya, Paul Ereng attended Starehe Boys Centre and School 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 ...

, Kenya. He was a promising 400 m runner until the end of 1987. After enrolling at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, Ereng took up the 800 m in early 1988.

Running career

Ereng was undefeated during the

United States 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

outdoor season in early 1988. While running for UVA, he won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

800 meter title in 1988 and 1989. But in the Kenyan Olympic trials, Ereng barely qualified for the Olympic team, finishing third. Despite his rapid development, Ereng wasn't seen as a potential gold medalist when he arrived at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

. However, people started to rate his chances more seriously after he won his semi-final in a personal best of 1:44.55. In the Olympic final, Ereng was in eighth place out of eight runners (last) for most of the first half of the race, and in seventh place with only 300 meters to go. He was fourth as they entered the straight, but he then surged past the three runners in front of him, which included two former Olympic gold medalists, 1984 5000 meter champion Said Aouita and 1984 800 meter champion Joaquim Cruz, to win the gold medal. Ereng's surge to the line and victory was mistakenly called on live television in the United States as a victory for his Kenyan teammate

Nixon Kiprotich Nixon Kiprotich (born December 4, 1962, in Baringo) is a former Kenyan 800 metres runner, who won the silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games. Previously, Kiprotich had come eighth in the 1988 Olympic final. He finished 3rd at the 1989 IAAF Wo ...

by announcers

Charlie Jones (sportscaster) Charlie Jones (November 9, 1930 – June 12, 2008) was an American sportscaster for NBC and ABC. Early life Charlie Jones was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California, where he was ...

and Frank Shorter, as Ereng had passed a fading Kiprotich, who had briefly led the race with 200 meters remaining, and the announcers had confused the two. Ereng has privately revealed to fans that Jones and Shorter both spoke to him later to offer apologies and that he had no hard feelings towards them for their error. Kiprotich himself also persevered and won a silver medal in the 800 meters in the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona. After the Olympics, Ereng returned home to Kenya to a hero's welcome, the highlight of which was receiving, in a time-honoured tradition, his gold medal was once more presented to him during evening assembly at his former school, Starehe, by the late Dr. Geoffrey William Griffin. At the World Indoor Championships 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 ...

the following year, Ereng produced a devastating finish to win the gold medal in a new

world indoor record World records in Sport of athletics, athletics are ratified by World Athletics. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking. Records are kept for athletics at the Summer Olympi ...

of 1:44.84. In 1991, Ereng retained his world indoor title at

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

, but was only fourth in the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

. Ereng never posed a serious threat in major international championships after that, and he was eliminated in the semi-finals at the 1992 Olympic Games. Paul Ereng ended his career in 1992 from an injury to the Achilles heel.

Later career

Ereng graduated from Virginia in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in religious studies with a minor in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. His wife, Fatima, a former sales executive of the

Nation Media Group Nation Media Group (abbreviated as NMG) is a Kenyan media group listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. NMG was founded by Aga Khan IV in 1959 and is the largest private media house in East and Central Africa with offices in Kenya, Uganda, and ...

. He subsequently took up a job as head cross country coach in the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

, the first Kenyan to take such a coaching job.

References

External links

* Daily Nation, June 3, 2000
After the gold rush
*

Flotrack.com Video interview of Paul Ereng
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ereng, Paul 1967 births Living people Kenyan male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Kenya Olympic gold medalists for Kenya Virginia Cavaliers men's track and field athletes UTEP Miners cross country coaches Kenyan athletics coaches Alumni of Starehe Boys Centre and School Turkana people Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Indoor Championships winners