Margaret Ngotho (born 25 June 1970) is a Kenyan former

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 stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who competed in

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

and track events. Her highest achievement was a bronze medal in the short race at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

in 2000. She was three times a team medalist at the competition for Kenya, winning gold in 1991 and 1995 then finally silver in 2001. She was a double bronze medallist 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 organis ...

in 1990, running the

3000 metres 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 3000 m sho ...

and the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

. She was a three-time Kenyan champion, winning at both track distances and once in short cross country.

Career

Ngotho made her first international appearance at the

1988 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1988 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Auckland, New Zealand, at the Ellerslie Racecourse on March 26, 1988. A report on the event was given in the ''Glasgow Herald''. Complete results for men, junior men, women, med ...

, but was by far the slowest Kenyan performer in 96th place. She rose to prominence at the 1990 African Championships in Athletics where she was the double bronze medallist in the

and

. She was the Kenyan champion in both those events that year.Kenyan Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-23. Her first medal on the global stage followed 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 ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American d ...

and her eighth-place finish brought her a gold medal with the Kenyan women's team (which included namesake

Jane Ngotho Jane Ngotho Wanjiku (born 29 November 1969) is a former Kenyan long-distance runner who specialised in 3000 metres, and 10,000 metres events. She won three medals in two different editions of the African Championships in 1989 and 1990, including ...

, Susan Sirma and Pauline Konga). Ngotho ran on the European

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

circuit in the early 1990s and had wins at the 1993 Alsterlauf Hamburg and the 1994 Kerzerslauf. After a win at the Cross Pradelle, she returned to international competition at the

1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Durham, United Kingdom, at the University of Durham on 25 March 1995. A report on the event was given in ''The New York Times'' and in the Herald A herald, or a herald of ...

and her fourth-place finish behind compatriot Sally Barsosio brought her another team gold medal. Running on the track circuit that year she set two lifetime bests: she ran 15:24.53 minutes for 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 sta ...

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants dialect, Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the Twente region, in the province of Overijssel. It is part of a larger urban area that also includes Enschede, Borne, Overijssel, Borne, Almelo and Ol ...

and a 3000 m best of 8:50.09 minutes brought her eighth place at the 1995 IAAF Grand Prix Final in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

.Margaret Ngotho
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-10-23. She remained a top-ten finisher at European track meets over the next few years.Margaret Ngotho
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-10-23. The introduction of a shorter distance race at the

2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 18/19, 2000. The races were held at the Sporting Complex in Vilamoura, Portugal. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in the Herald, and for the IA ...

played to Ngotho's strengths and, following a win at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships, she had the greatest success of her career in the form of a bronze medal. She was narrowly beaten by both

Kutre Dulecha Kutre Dulecha (born August 22, 1978 in Sidamo) is a middle distance runner from Ethiopia. She mainly competes in 1500 metres, where she set a world junior record in 1997. She became world indoor champion in 2004, Ethiopia's first ever women's 1 ...

and Zahra Ouaziz in a

sprint finish In sport, sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves :wikt:traverse, traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed ...

, recording the same time as the other athletes, and just one second ahead of fourth-placed

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a British former long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 200 ...

. This performance also coincided with a poor Kenyan team performance in fourth, with Sally Barsosio the only other Kenyan in the top ten. Maintaining her good form, she won the Pune Half Marathon with a best of 68:10 minutes, as well as the Cross Internacional de Soria in November.Soria course profile
.

Real Federación Española de Atletismo The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (Spanish: ''Real Federación Española de Atletismo'', RFEA), is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Spain. As of 2023, the federation has 1,323 registered clubs and 87,532 federated athletes. ...

. Retrieved on 2009-11-29. A team silver in an Edith Masai-led Kenyan women's team came as part of her final international appearance (and fifth at the tournament) at the

2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24/25, 2001. The races were held at the Hippodrome Wellington in Ostend (Oostende), Belgium. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in the ''Herald'', ...

, where she came tenth. A best in the

10K run The 10K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 10K road race, 10 km, or simply 10K, it is one of the most common types of road running event, alongside the shorter 5K and longer half ...

followed a month later via a win in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. After a quiet 2002, she was a frequent competitor on the track in Europe in 2003. Highlights included a 1500 m win at the

FBK Games The Fanny Blankers-Koen Games, abbreviated as FBK Games, is an annual track and field event at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands. It is named after Fanny Blankers-Koen in 1981, but was named Adriaan Paulen Memorial after A ...

and a lifetime best of 4:07.38 minutes for third at the Seville Athletics Grand Prix. She set further bests of 4:32.65 minutes for the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards, 5,280 Foot (unit), feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance running, middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling ...

and 5:41.02 minutes for the

2000 metres The 2000 metres or 2000-metre run is a track running event where five laps are completed around an outdoor 400 m track, or ten laps around a 200 m indoor track - the distance is 11.68 meters short of 1¼ miles. The global governing body World At ...

at the

Golden Spike Ostrava Golden Spike () is an annual athletics event at the Městský Stadion in Ostrava- Vítkovice, Czech Republic as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1961. The history of the meeting was interrupted in 1999, whe ...

. There were also top three placings at the

Notturna di Milano Notturna di Milano () is an annual track and field meeting which is held in September at the Arena Civica in Milan, Italy. First held in 1998, the meeting received IAAF permit meeting status the following year. In its earlier years, men's sprinting ...

and Osaka Grand Prix meetings. After lower level performances in 2004, she retired from competition.

Personal bests

– 4:07.38 min (2003) *

Mile run The mile run (1,760 yards, 5,280 Foot (unit), feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance running, middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling ...

– 4:32.65 min (2003) *

– 5:41.02 min (2003) *

– 8:50.09 min (1995) *

– 15:24.53 min (1995) *

– 32:52 min (2001) *

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 ...

– 68:10 min (2000)

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngotho, Margaret Living people 1970 births Kenyan female middle-distance runners Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female cross country runners 20th-century Kenyan sportswomen 21st-century Kenyan sportswomen