Ibrahim Kipkemboi Hussein (born 3 June 1958 in Kapsabet, Rift Valley) is a retired long-distance runner from Kenya, who was a three-time winner of the Boston Marathon in 1988, 1991, and 1992. He was also the first winner from Kenya of the New York City Marathon in 1987, and multiple other marathons in his years. He and his wife Zainab Ibrahim are both alumni at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. Ibrahim Hussein is among many athletes on the Hall of Fame in New Mexico. The couple has five children, Hussein Ibrahim, Farida Ibrahim, Hadija Ibrahim, Jamal Ibrahim and Warda Ibrahim.
Ibrahim Hussein was the first Kenyan (and also the first African) to win Boston, setting a world record and having books written on his legacy. Since his 1988 win, the Kenyans have come to dominate Boston, having won the race every year since 1988 with only nine years of exception. The only non-Africans to win Boston since 1988 were South Korean Lee Bong-Ju, Italian Gelindo Bordin, and Japanese Yuki Kawauchi.
He is now retired and owns Amedo Center, which is an apartment complex that comprises a restaurant, pool place and an electronics shop in Eldoret, Kenya, as well as many other properties in Kenya. He also runs a training camp for young Kenyan athletes who are given a chance to race alongside elite athletes. He was the chairman of Athletics Kenya North Rift branch. [1] He now holds one of only nine offices in the world at the Regional Development Center in Nairobi, after John Velzian's retirement. He works as a representative of English-speaking countries in Africa, holding one of the important offices associated with International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), which is an athletic federation governing the sport of athletics.
His 1988 win in Boston was a photo finish with Juma Ikangaa. Hussein held off Ikangaa by a mere second. This was the closest Boston Marathon finish ever up until that point. There would be a closer finish in 2000 when Elijah Lagat won. Ikangaa would go on to finish second again in the next two Boston Marathons but would never win it.
He is the older brother of Mbarak Hussein, a naturalized U.S. citizen who is an elite Master's marathoner in his own right and who has two top five finishes himself in Boston (fifth in 2001 and fourth in 2002.) [2]
Hussein is a graduate of St. Patrick's High School (Iten, Kenya) and the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA).
The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishers in 2019 and 98,247 applicants for the 2017 race. Along with the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, it is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the United States and is one of the World Marathon Majors.
Tegla Chepkite Loroupe is a Kenyan long-distance track and road runner. She is also a global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights and education. Loroupe holds the world records for 25 and 30 kilometers and previously held the world marathon record. She was the first African woman to hold the marathon World Record, which she held from 19 April 1998 until 30 September 2001. She is the three-time World Half-Marathon champion. Loroupe was also the first woman from Africa to win the New York City Marathon, which she has won twice. She has won marathons in London, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Berlin and Rome.
Djibouti took part in the 1996 Summer Olympics, which were held in Atlanta, United States from 19 July to 4 August. The country's participation marked its fourth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, United States. The delegation from Djibouti included five athletes, three in athletics and two in sailing. The three athletes for athletics were Ali Ibrahim, Omar Moussa, and Hussein Ahmed Salah while Robleh Ali Adou and Mohamed Youssef represented the country for sailing.
The World Marathon Majors (WMM) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races recognised as the most high-profile on the calendar, the series comprises annual races for the cities of Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized in the 5000 metres. Kipchoge is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion, and was the world record holder in the marathon from 2018 to 2023, until that record was broken by Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. Kipchoge has run four of the 10 fastest marathons in history.
Rodgers Rop is a long-distance runner from Kenya.
Iten is a town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County in the Republic of Kenya and serves as the capital and is the largest town in the county. The town is located along the road between Eldoret and Kabarnet at the junction of the road heading to Kapsowar. Elgeyo escarpment and Kerio River are located east of Iten. The growing town had a population of 42,312 at the 2009 consensus.
Evans Kiprop Cheruiyot is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. He started out as a half marathon runner, taking wins in Rotterdam and Nairobi, and won his debut marathon race in Milan in 2007. He won the Chicago Marathon in 2008, running a personal best of 2:06:25 hours.
Sport is an important element of Kenyan culture. Various indigenous traditional sports have prevailed in Kenyan culture from its earliest history. Some of the traditional games and sports prevalent in Kenya since antiquity have included wrestling, racing exercises, stick fights, hunting, board games, bull fights and dances.
Mbarak Kipkorir Hussein is a Kenyan athlete who specialises in long distance running, including the marathon. Having been a resident of Albuquerque since 1987, he obtained United States citizenship in 2004 and began representing the US internationally in 2007.
Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. On 18 April 2011 at the Boston Marathon, Mutai ran the fastest marathon ever at the time in a time of 2 hours 3 minutes 2 seconds, though the time was not recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations as a world record since the Boston course does not meet the criteria to be eligible for the mark.
Lelisa Desisa Benti is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. Desisa gained his first international medal at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships, where he took the 10,000 metres gold medal.
Wesley Kipchumba Korir is a Kenyan athlete who specializes in long distance running competitions, as well as a politician who served as an elected member of Parliament for Cherangany Constituency. On 16 April 2012, he won the Boston Marathon with a time of 2 hours 12 minutes 40 seconds. He had previously won the Los Angeles Marathon in 2009 and 2010, the first back-to-back winner there in eight years. He took second place in the 2011 Chicago Marathon in a personal-record time of 2 hours 6 minutes 15 seconds, and improved that personal record by 2 seconds in the 2012 Chicago Marathon. In the 2013 Kenyan general election, Korir was elected to a seat in the National Assembly. He lost his seat in 2017.
Fatwell Kimaiyo is a Kenyan former track and field athlete who competed in the 110 metres hurdles and 400 metres hurdles.
Sally Chepyego Kaptich is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes mainly in track and road running events.
Bashir Abdi is a Belgian long-distance runner. He won bronze medals in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 World Championships and silver at the 2024 Summer Olympics. In doing so, Abdi became both the first ever Belgian world championship medal winner at the marathon and the first Belgian male athlete to win an individual medal at both the Olympic Games and World Athletics Championships. He claimed silver in the 10,000 metres at the 2018 European Championships. He finished second and third at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon and 2022 London Marathon respectively. Abdi is the European record holder for the marathon.
Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott is a Kenyan-born American long-distance runner.
Erick Kimaiyo Kimase is a Kenyan former marathon runner who came second at the 1997 Berlin Marathon, and won the Honolulu and Baltimore Marathons on multiple occasions. Kimaiyo now works as a marathon coach, and trains current women's world record holder Brigid Kosgei.
David Kimani Mungai is a Kenyan mid- and long-distance runner.
Joseph Kamau is a former professional long-distance runner from Kenya who finished second in the 1997 Boston Marathon and third in the 1996 New York City Marathon.
