Eliud Kiptanui

ELIUD KIPTANUI
KENYA

BIRTHDATE:
6 June 1989

PERSONAL BEST:
2:05:39 (Prague, 2010)

WORLD MARATHON MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS:

30Sep12 BMW Berlin Marathon 7th 2:09:59
04Sep11 IAAF World Championships 6th 2:11:50
26Sep10 real,-Berlin Marathon 5th 2:08:05

ADDITIONAL CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

09May10 Volkswagen Prague International Marathon 1st 2:05:39
08Dec09 Safaricom Kisumu Marathon 1st 2:12:17

CAREER NOTES:

Eliud Kiptanui made one of the most impressive international marathon debuts in history last May at Prague.

He came into the race a virtual unknown with only a 2:12 victory at a domestic marathon in his home country of Kenya. And in the later stages of the Prague race he was running so fast the others thought he must have been a pacemaker and he was going to drop out.

But he did not as he went on to post the 17th fastest time in history, 2:05:39, about a month short of his 21st birthday. After a first half of 1:03:16, he sped up to cover the final half in 1:02:23. Moreso, his manager Volker Wagner commented after the race that the Prague course, with several kilometres of cobblestones, is far from being the fastest in the world.

Stepping up to a Majors race at Berlin in September, he found the rainy, wet conditions difficult but still placed fifth in 2:08:05.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Kiptanui is from Kaptagat, a town of about 3000m altitude near Eldoret, and began serious running at the age of 16. He has five other brothers and sisters, and after winning 75,000 euros in Prague he pledged to use the money to help educate his siblings.