Thomas Ayeko (born 10 February 1992) is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n professional

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 exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. At the

2012 Summer Olympics 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 ...

, he competed 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 race ...

, finishing 16th overall.

Career

His international debut came at the

2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw i ...

, where he came 18th and helped Uganda to the junior bronze team medals. His junior career took off the following year as he was the junior silver medallist behind

Geoffrey Kamworor Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor (born 22 November 1992) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in cross country, marathon, and half marathon races. He was the 2011 World Junior Cross Country Champion. Kamworor won the IAAF Worl ...

at the

2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 20, 2011. The races were held at the Polideportivo Antonio Gil Hernández in Punta Umbría, Spain. Reports of the event were given for the IAAF. Preparation The Unite ...

, then won bronze medals in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

and

at the

2011 African Junior Athletics Championships The 2011 African Junior Athletics Championships were held at the University of Botswana Stadium in Gaborone, Botswana from 12 to 15 May. It was the tenth edition of the continental athletics tournament for African athletes aged 19 years or younger ...

. Ayeko stepped into the senior category in 2012 and began to focus on

track running Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, running a 5000 m best of 13:23.25 minutes for second at the

Memorial Primo Nebiolo The Memorial Primo Nebiolo is an annual track and field meeting held at the Stadio Primo Nebiolo in Turin, Italy in early June. History The history of the Turin competition dates back to 1963, when the Torino Meeting was first held. This event ho ...

and a 10,000 m best of 27:43.22 minutes in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

.Thomas Ayeko
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-18. After his Olympic debut, he began 2013 on grass and won the Antrim Cross Country before taking second at the

Cross de San Sebastián The Cross Internacional de San Sebastián, also known as the ''Cross Internacional de Donostia'', is an annual cross country running event which is staged in late January in San Sebastián, Spain. The competition was first held in 1956 as a men's ...

. He placed fourth at the

Cinque Mulini The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills along Olona river, which lend the competition its name – meaning ' ...

a month later. He was runner-up to Peter Kibet at that year's Ugandan 10,000 m championship race and went on to place eleventh at the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

with a personal best run of 27:40.96 minutes. He made his

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

debut at the

Great Birmingham Run The Great Birmingham Run is an annual half marathon road running event held in Birmingham, UK in October. Formerly known as the Birmingham Half Marathon, from 2011 it became part of the Great Run series of road races. Established in 2008, it in ...

in October and won the race in a time of 1:02:32 hours. A week later, he came in third at the

Great South Run The Great South Run is an annual 10 mile (16.09 km) road running race which takes place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom providing an intermediate distance between the ten kilometre and the half marathon (21.097 km) runs. Launched in 1990 ...

10-miler.Kiplagat and Bett battle strong winds at Great South Run
IAAF (2013-10-27). Retrieved on 2013-10-28.

References

External links

*
PACE sports management profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayeko, Thomas 1992 births Living people Ugandan male long-distance runners People from Bukwo District Olympic athletes for Uganda Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Uganda 21st-century Ugandan people Sportspeople from Eastern Region, Uganda