Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego (born 19 December 1985) is a Kenyan-born American long- and

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

. She was the silver medalist in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

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 ...

and the silver medalist in the same race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has a personal record of 30:38.35 minutes for that event and her 5000 metres best of 14:30.42 minutes makes her the second fastest Kenyan woman for the distance. She competed as part of the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...

cross country and track and field teams under coach

Wes Kittley Wes Kittley is the current head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders track and field team. He has produced several national champions and Olympians in Sally Kipyego and Kennedy Kithuka. Career Abilene Christian, 1983-1999 Kittley was the women's t ...

. She became the first Kenyan woman to win an NCAA cross country individual championship, the first woman to win three consecutive

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 an ...

Division I Cross Country titles, and the first runner to win three consecutive

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

cross country titles. She also won three straight NCAA Indoor titles over 5000 m and was a two-time NCAA Outdoor champion. She is tied with Suzy Favor-Hamilton for the most individual championships in NCAA history. Kipyego won more individual NCAA championships in 2 years than any other runner in NCAA history. Academically, Kipyego earned a nursing degree. She runs professionally on the International Association of Athletics Federations' (" IAAF")

World Athletics Tour The IAAF World Athletics Tour was an annual global circuit of one day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Formed in 2006, it comprised two separate levels of athletics meetings: t ...

. She is sponsored by

Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

Early life

Born in Kapsowar,

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 ...

, Kipyego attended Kaptiony Primary School. The school was demolished and, in January 2013, the newly constructed Shoe4Africa Sally Kipyego School replaced it. Kipyego's running career started in 2000 when she was 14. The following year, she represented Kenya as a junior at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, finishing eighth. However, a stress fracture kept her off both the 2002 and 2003 teams before entering college in the United States.

Collegiate career

Sally Kipyego is the first Texas Tech Big 12 XC Champ & only female to ever win 3

cross country titles (06, 07, 08).

2007

After coming to the United States, Kipyego continued her running career as part of the South Plains College Texans track and cross country team for three semesters before joining the

cross country and track and field teams, becoming the first Kenyan woman to win an

cross country individual championship. In December 2006, she was chosen as the top female college cross-country athlete in the United States. This honour made her the recipient of the 2007 Honda Sports Award and gave her an automatic nomination for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year award. Kipyego is also one of only seven women in NCAA history to win four individual track titles during a single season. In November Kipyego won her second consecutive cross country national championship. In doing so, she set a new course record, beating the previous one by 18 seconds.

2008

As the nation's top collegiate female cross country runner, Kipyego was selected to receive the 2008 Honda Sports Award. On 14 March 2008, Kipyego won her sixth national title at the 2008

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

Indoor Track & Field Championships in the 5000 m, again with a world-leading time. The US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Kipyego the USTFCCCA Division I Indoor Track & Field Women's Track Athlete of the Year for 2008. Later, the association also awarded Kipyego the Women's Athlete of the Year honour for the 2008 outdoor season as well. On 5 May 2008, Kipyego set the NCAA 10,000-meter record in a time of 31:25.45 at the Stanford invitational ( Palo Alto, CA), besting the previous record held by Lisa Koll by over 45 seconds. The record stood for almost two years, when it was taken back by Koll on the very same track in 2010. On 13 June 2008, Kipyego won her seventh national title at the 2008

Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 5000 m, with an NCAA meet record time. She followed that performance with a second-place finish in the 1500 m on 14 June 2008. On 1 November 2008, Kipyego won the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

Cross Country Championships with a time of 19:45, more than 50 seconds faster than second-place teammate Lillian Badaru. Her victory helped the Texas Tech women win their first conference championship. Kipyego became the first runner since the creation of the conference to win three consecutive conference titles.

2009

In 2009, Kipyego was awarded her third consecutive Honda Sports Award. She was the first athlete to be honoured three times with the program's cross-country award. Kipyego finished her college career at the 2009 Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. She earned her ninth individual title by winning the 5000 meter. This tied her with Wisconsin's Suzy Favor-Hamilton for the most NCAA individual championships. It took Kipyego only two and a half years to accomplish what Favor-Hamilton did in four. In her final collegiate race, the mile, three-tenths of a second separated Kipyego from winner Sarah Bowman of the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

Professional career

2010

Kipyego began her professional career in the 2010 season. She signed up as a member of the

Oregon Track Club The Oregon Track Club (OTC) is an American running organization based in Eugene, Oregon. History Emerald Empire Athletic Association Formed by Bill Bowerman, the Emerald Empire Athletic Association (EEAA) was the predecessor to the Oregon Track C ...

. That year she came third in the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...

mile and second at the Boston Indoor Games with a personal best of 14:52.67 minutes. She won her first outdoor 5000 m of the season at the Mt. SAC Relays and was in the top four of the event at the New York, Eugene and London legs of the 2010 IAAF Diamond League, before coming fifth in the final at the Memorial Van Damme with a new best of 14:38.64 minutes.Sally Kipyego
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 16 June 2012.

2011

At the start of 2011 she won the 3000 m at the Boston Indoor meet, then set an outdoor

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 ...

best of 4:06.23 minutes at the Oregon Relays in April. She bettered her 10,000 m time at the Payton Jordan Invitational by winning in 30:38.35. She gained selection for the Kenyan team in that event by coming second at the Kenyan trials. On the 2011 IAAF Diamond League she competed over 5000 m: she was fourth at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University ...

, but managed second place at the DN Galan and Weltklasse Zürich meetings (improving her best to 14:30.42 minutes at the latter). She established herself internationally at the

, where she was the silver medallist in the 10,000 m, finishing second to her compatriot

Vivian Cheruiyot Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and cross country running. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning a silver medal at the 5 ...

. Kipyego ended her year by competing in American road competitions, taking second at the

Fifth Avenue Mile The Fifth Avenue Mile is an annual road race on Fifth Avenue in New York City, United States. The race begins at 80th Street and heads twenty blocks south to 60th Street. First held on September 26, 1981, the race is currently organized by ...

and winning the

Manchester Road Race The Manchester Road Race is a 4.748 mile (7.641 km) footrace held annually on Thanksgiving Day in Manchester, Connecticut. Race proceeds are donated each year to Muscular Dystrophy research and about 18 other local charities. Beginning prompt ...

for a second year running.

2012

In April 2012, Kipyego won the 5000 m at the Payton Jordan Invitational with a time of 14:43:11. A 3000 m best of 8:35.89 minutes came at the Prefontaine Classic, where she was second place. She guaranteed Olympic participation by coming third at the Kenyan 10,000 m trial event in Nairobi. She competed in both the 5000 m and the

10000 m The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The rac ...

, winning the silver medal in the 10000 m and narrowly missing out on a medal in the 5000 m, finishing less than a second behind bronze medalist Tirunesh Dibaba. In September 2012, MRI and CT-Scans would reveal a broken Calcaneus bone in her left heel; But in April 2013, just as the looming track season became visible on the horizon, Kipyego's Calcaneus bone broke again.

2014

In March 2014, Sally Kipyego won and set the New York City half marathon women's record in 1:08:31. In May 2014, Kipyego won the women's 10,000m in 30:42.26 in the 2014

Payton Jordan Payton Jordan (March 19, 1917 – February 5, 2009) was the head coach of the 1968 United States Olympic track and field team, one of the most powerful track teams ever assembled, which won a record twenty-four medals, including twelve golds. ...

Invitational. Kipyego's race is the fastest 10,000 meters in the world as of 10 July 2014. On 18 July, Kipyego ran 14:37.18 at the Diamond League

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

2015

Sally Kipyego won the

women's 3000m in 8:41.72, setting a meet record, and finishing 1.47 seconds ahead of compatriot

Betsy Saina Betsy Saina (born 30 June 1988) is a Kenyan athlete in long distance running. Early life Saina was born in Kenya on 30 June 1988. She began running as a teenager in Eldoret, Kenya with hopes to pursue education at Itigo Girls High School. Her ...

. Competing in the 5,000 meters at the Payton Jordan Invitational on 2 May 2015, she ran a IAAF World Championships in Athletics world and Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics "A" standard qualifying time of 14:57.44 and was a winner just ahead of compatriot

. Sally Kipyego placed 5th in 31:44.42 at

2015 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 10,000 metres The women's 10,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 24 August. Summary The reigning champion from 2013 Tirunesh Dibaba was absent from the competition, having decided to take a c ...

. On Nov. 1, Kipyego ran in her first marathon: the TCS New York City Marathon. The NYC Marathon weather forecast a high of 65 on race day, with a 50 percent chance of rain and 9 mph winds. Kipyego ran with the rest of the elites until mile 23, where she dropped out.

2016

Sally Kipyego ran 14:43.98 at 2016

5000 meters in Eugene, Oregon (USA) on May 27, 2016. On June 30, 2016, Kipyego ran 32:37.11 for 10,000 meters at

2016 Athletics Kenya Olympic Trials The 2016 Athletics Kenya Olympic Trials the athletics meeting held by Athletics Kenya to select the representatives to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The meet was held June 29-30, 2016 in Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret, Kenya ...

in Eldoret at elevation. Kipyego won a Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon in 1:09:53 in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. Runner-up Sally Kipyego (2:28:01) at 2016

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

behind winner Mary Keitany (2:24:26) and ahead of

Molly Huddle Molly Huddle (born August 31, 1984) is an American long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. Huddle set the American record in the 5000 m at the 2014 Herculis Diamond League meet in Fontvieille, Monaco (14:42. ...

who placed third in 2:28:13.

2020

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, at the U.S. Woman's Olympic Trials Marathon on February 29, 2020, Sally Kipyego took third place in 2:28:52. She earned a spot on the US Olympic Team and won $55,000.

2021

Kipyego was considered a top contender going into the

Olympic Marathon The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the prog ...

run in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...

, Japan, Aug. 7, 2021. She ran with the front runners alongside teammate Molly Seidel and the top Kenyans ( Peres Jepchirchir and

Brigid Kosgei Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei (born 20 February 1994) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She won the 2018 and 2019 Chicago Marathons, the 2019 and 2020 London Marathons and the 2021 Tokyo Marathon. Kosgei is the curre ...

) through the first half of the race. In the hot and humid conditions, Kipyego's pace wasn't strong enough to keep with the pack. She moved back and finished 17th in 2:32:53, five-and-a-half minutes back from winner Jepchirchir.

Competition record

NCAA titles

NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship The NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams and ...

: 2006, 2007, 2008 *

NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship The NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate outdoor track and field competitions for women organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for athletes from institutions that make ...

: 10,000 m (2007), 5000 m (2008) * NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship: 3000 m (2007), 5000 m (2007, 2008, 2009) *''NCAA Runner up'': Outdoor 5000 m (2007), Outdoor 1500 m (2008), Indoor Mile (2009)

Personal bests

1500 m 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 ...

– 4:06.23 Eugene, Oregon (22 Apr 2011) *

Mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

(indoor) – 4:27.19 College Station, TX (28 Feb 2009) * 2000 m – 5:35.20 Eugene, Oregon (7 Jun 2009) *

3000 m 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 ...

– 8:34.18

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

(5 Sep 2014) * Two miles (indoor) – 9:21.04

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 ...

(Roxbury) (8 Feb 2014) * 5000 m – 14:30.42

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

(8 Sep 2011) * 10,000 m – 30:26.37 London (3 Aug 2012) *15k – 49:11 –

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...

(25 Jan 2015) *20k – 1:06:00 –

(25 Jan 2015) *Half marathon – 1:07:41 New York City (20 Mar 2016) *Marathon - 2:28:01 at 2016

Personal life

Kipyego went to Moi Kapcherop Girls High School in Kapcherop,

, with other girls who became professional runners, such as Pasca Myers. Her elder brothers, Mike Kipyego and

Christopher Kipyego Christopher Kipyego (born 13 June 1974) is a runner from Kenya who has won multiple major marathon races, including the Mexico City Marathon (''spanish: Maratón Internacional de la Ciudad de México'') in 2006 with a time of 2:17:23. Early caree ...

, are also runners. When Kipyego was four years old, her father died, leaving her mother to raise seven children. The family was poor and her mother was often sick. When Kipyego was eleven, her brother's friend suffered an injury in a bicycle accident. Kipyego ran seven miles to the nearest clinic but the doctor was intoxicated and kicked her out. These events gave Kipyego the desire to become a nurse so she could help provide better healthcare in her native country. Kipyego first enrolled at

South Plains College South Plains College (SPC) is a public community college in Levelland, Texas. It operates satellite branches in Plainview, at the Reese Technology Center, formerly Reese Air Force Base, in western Lubbock, and the Lubbock Center near centra ...

in Levelland, Texas. After transferring to Texas Tech, she applied to the

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

program in February 2007. Kipyego received an acceptance letter and began her first nursing class on 5 July 2007. Kipyego earned her nursing degree May 2009. Texas Tech cross country All-American Kevin Chelimo, now a volunteer assistant coach for

, married Sally Kipyego in 2008 summer. In January 2017, Kipyego became a U.S. citizen.

References

External links

* *
Player Bio
at Texas Tech Athletics {{DEFAULTSORT:Kipyego, Sally 1985 births Living people Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female middle-distance runners Texas Tech Red Raiders women's track and field athletes South Plains College alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Kenya Olympic silver medalists for Kenya World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Kenyan female cross country runners Texas Tech Red Raiders women's cross country runners People with acquired American citizenship Olympic track and field athletes of the United States People from Elgeyo-Marakwet County