Samuel Chelanga (born February 23, 1985, in

Baringo County Baringo County is one of the 47 Counties of Kenya, counties in Kenya. It is located in the former Rift Valley Province. Its headquarters and largest town is Kabarnet. The county is home to Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria and Lake Kamnarok. Geographi ...

, Kenya) is a Kenyan-born American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competed for

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

, from 2008 to 2011. He set the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

record for the 10,000 meters run with a time of 27:08.49 set at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, on May 1, 2010. (That record was broken by Nico Young on March 16, 2024.) His brother,

Joshua Chelanga Joshua Chelanga (born 7 April 1973 in Baringo District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who won the 2007 edition of the Rotterdam Marathon on April 15, clocking 2:08:21. His younger brother, Samuel Chelanga, is also a long-distance runner who ...

, is a professional

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

runner.

Early life

Sam Chelanga was born in Kabarsel village,

, Kenya, and was the 10th of 11 children.

Running career

Collegiate

Originally hailing from

, Kenya, Chelanga moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on a sports

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

. He attended

, with whom he won the 2009

NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship The NCAA Division I men's cross country championships (formerly the NCAA University Division cross country championships) are contested at an annual meet hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the individual and team ...

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

, and set a course record in 28:41.3."Chelanga Outruns Doubts to Win NCAA Title"
RunningTimes.com. November 22, 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-16. He won a third consecutive title at the

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

cross country championships in October, leading the race by a margin of over half a minute. In 2010, he defended his title by winning the NCAA cross country championship, becoming only the 11th man in NCAA history to win at least two such titles. He ended his time at Liberty University with fourteen All-American distance honours.

Professional

Chelanga signed a contract with Nike and made his professional race debut at the B.A.A. 10K in Boston in June 2011 under Jerry Schumacher and managed to take fourth place. In November 2013, he won the 77th Manchester Road Race (4.748 miles), an annual race held on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

Manchester, Connecticut Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713 ...

, in a time of 21 minutes, 31 seconds. Sam ran a 13:04.35 at Boston University's BU Multi-Team Meet, coming in second. He came in second behind his old college rival Galen Rupp who won in 13:01.26 – a new American indoor 5k record. From 2013 - January 2015, Sam trained with

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

alumnus Ben True in

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...

. In January 2015, Sam joined coach James Li in Tucson, Arizona. At the 2016 US Olympic Trials, Chelanga finished the 10,000 meters in sixth place, a minute behind winner Galen Rupp. But he was the third fastest in the race to hold a sub-28:00.00 qualifying time.

2014 Annual Bests

Seasonal best

2015

Carlsbad 5000 Results:
1. @LawiLalang1 13:32
2. Wilson Too 13:35
3. @Lagat1500 13:40
4. @SamChelanga 13:50 Wharf to Wharf Santa Cruz to Capitola 6 mile results:
1. Sam Chelanga 27:24.48
2. Shadrack Kosgei 27:27
3. John Muritu Watiku 27:28 43rd New Balance Falmouth Road Race
August 16
Sam finished 4th place 32:21 only 4 seconds behind the winner Stephen Sambu. USA 5 km Championships CVS/pharmacy Downtown 5k

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

September 20,
1. David Torrence 13:56.0
2. Dan Huling 13:59.0
3.

Dathan Ritzenhein Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC). He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009 to 2010, until it was broke ...

14:03.0
4. Sam Chelanga 14:07.0

USA 10 mile championship on October 4
1. Sam Chelanga 46:47
2. Tyler Pennel
3.

2016

Sam placed third in 2016 New York Half Marathon in 1:01:43 on March 20, 2016. Sam placed first in Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in Washington, D.C. Sam ran 10 Miles Road in 48:26 on April 3, 2016. The first 🇺🇸a male win at @CUCB since Greg Meyer in 1983! Sam Chelanga placed fifth in 2016 Payton Jordan Invitational 10,000m in 27:54.57 at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

on May 1, 2016. Chelanga qualified for the 2016 US Olympic Trials (track and field) at 2016 Hoka One One Mid Distance Classic May 20 hosted by

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

by running

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 ...

in 13:27.53. Chelanga placed sixth in the 10,000 m in 28:56.12 and 22nd in 5000 meters in 13:59.52 at 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field). Chelanga placed second in 59:16 at USATF 20 km Championships at Faxon Law New Haven Road Race. In October 2016, Chelanga won the USATF Championships at the Medtronic TC 10 Mile. At the time, Chelanga was running for Team USA Minnesota.

2017

Chelanga took home fourth place in 30:22.2 at 10 km at 2017 USATF cross country championships on February 4, 2017. Chelanga placed first at NACAC 10 km road race on February 26, 2017. Chelange placed first at World best 10 km Road in February in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, in a time of 28:19. Chelanga placed third in 15 km Road in March in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, in a time of 43:28. In May Chelanga served as a pacer for Nike's

Breaking2 Breaking2 was a project by Nike to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon. Nike announced the project in November 2016 and organized a team of three elite runners who trained for a private race. The event was held on the Formula One race tr ...

attempt at achieving a sub-2-hour marathon time. Chelanga placed ninth in 10,000m at

2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held at Hornet Stadium (Sacramento), Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California, Sacramento, California. Organized by USA Track & Field ...

in June in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

in a time of 29:08.29. Chelanga placed third in 10 km road in July at Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race in a time of 28:25 and first at Quad-City Times Bix 7 in a time of 32:53. Chelanga placed third in September at Faxon Law New Haven Road Race 20 km in a time of 59:16. Chelanga placed 15th in October at 2017 Chicago Marathon in a time of 2:15:02.

2018

Chelanga placed seventh at 2018 Aramco Half Marathon in 1:00:37. Chelanga ran the sixth fastest American time all-time for the half marathon behind Ryan Hall (59:43 14 January 2007 in Houston Texas), Leonard Korir (59:52 19 November 2017 in New Delhi India),

(60:00 1 October 2009 in Birmingham England), Abdihakem Abdirahman (60:29 5 August 2007 in New York NY), and Galen Rupp (60:29 20 March 2011 in New York NY).

Personal bests

*''Updated May 17, 2014.''IAAF Samuel Chelanga biography
Retrieved on June 27, 2011.

References

External links

Sam Chelanga Track and Field Profile
at Liberty Flames * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chelanga, Sam Living people 1985 births Sportspeople from Nairobi Liberty University alumni American male marathon runners Kenyan male long-distance runners American people of Kenyan descent Sportspeople of Kenyan descent American sportsmen Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Australian Athletics Championships winners Liberty Flames track and field athletes NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen