Isaac Kimeli

Last updated

Isaac Kimeli
131208-024 - Isaac Kimeli 2013.jpg
Kimeli in 2013
Personal information
NationalityKenyan-Belgian
Born (1994-03-09) 9 March 1994 (age 30)
Uasin Gishu County, Kenya [1]
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight59 kg (130 lb) [1]
Sport
Country Belgium
Sport Athletics
Event(s) Middle-, Long-distance running
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium
European Indoor Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2021 Toruń 3000 m
European U23 Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2015 Tallinn 5000 m
European Cross Country Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Chia U23 men
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2013 Belgrade Junior men
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2018 Tilburg Senior men
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Lisbon Senior team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Turin Senior men

Isaac Kimeli (born 9 March 1994 [2] in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya) is a Kenyan born Belgian middle- and long-distance runner.

Contents

Kimeli won one Diamond League meeting, securing victory in the 5000 m at the 2019 Memorial Van Damme in Brussels (promotional event) with a personal best of 13:13.02. [2]

Training and personal life

When Kimeli was four years old, his mother migrated from their home county of Uasin Gishu in Kenya to Belgium to work as a nurse. Kimeli was left in the care of his grand-parents for ten years. At age 15 he was finally reunited with this mother in Belgium. It was there that his PE teachers encouraged him to join a track club. [3]

Career

In 2011, Kimeli competed in his first international competition at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Trabzon, Turkey. [3]

Two years later, Kimeli won his first international medal by winning a silver at the junior 2013 European Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. [4] This was soon followed by a gold medal at the Under-23 2016 European Cross Country Championships in Chia, Italy [5] , and 2 silver medals (one individual, one team) and a bronze at the senior level 2018 [6] , 2019 [7] and 2022 European Cross Country Championships [8] resp.

On the track, Kimeli earned a silver in the 5000 metres at the 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships and in the 3000 metres at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships. [9]

Kimeli represented Belgium at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan resp. Paris, France, his best result a 8th place in the final of the men's 5000 metres in Paris. [10]

Achievements

Competition record

Representing Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventResult
2011 European Youth Olympic Festival Trabzon, Turkey9th1500 m 3:58.80
2012 European Cross Country Championships Szentendre, Hungary6thXC 6.025 km U20 19:00
2013 World Cross Country Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland30thXC 8 km U20 23:15
European Cross Country Championships Belgrade, Serbia2ndXC 6.025 km U20 17:51
2014 European Championships Zürich, Switzerland19th (h)1500 m 3:41.96
European Cross Country Championships Samokov, Bulgaria20thXC 7.782 km U23 26:20
2015 European U23 Championships Tallinn, Estonia2nd5000 m 13:54.33
European Cross Country Championships Hyères, France38thXC 8.087 km U23 24:27
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands9th1500 m 3:47.92
European Cross Country Championships Chia, Italy1stXC 7.97 km U23 22:48
2017 World Cross Country Championships Kampala, UgandaXC 9.858 km DNF
2018 European Championships Berlin, Germany15th (h)1500 m 3:42.77
– (f)5000 m DQ
European Cross Country Championships Tilburg, Netherlands2ndXC 10.3 km 28:52
2019 European Team Championships First League Sandnes, Norway1st3000 m 8:09.09
World Championships Doha, Qatar18th (sf)1500 m 3:37.50
14th5000 m 13:44.29
European Cross Country Championships Lisbon, Portugal7thXC 10.3 km 30:46
2ndTeam 38 pts
2021 European Indoor Championships Toruń, Poland2nd3000 m 7:49.41
Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan32nd (h)5000 m 13:57.36
18th10,000 m 28:31.91
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia– (f)3000 m DNS
World Championships Eugene, OR, United States10th10,000 m 27:43.50 SB
European Championships Munich, Germany11th5000 m 13:33.39
– (f)10,000 m DNF
European Cross Country Championships Turin, Italy3rdXC 9.572 km 29:45
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 13th10,000 m 28:20.77
2024 European Championships Rome, Italy 14th10,000 m 28:17.84
Olympic Games Paris, France 11th (h)5,000 m 13:19.25
8th (f) 13:18.10
19th (f)10,000 m 27:51.52

National titles

Personal bests

Road

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Gevaert</span> Belgian sprinter

Kim Gevaert is a former sprinter and Olympic champion from Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tia Hellebaut</span> Belgian track and field athlete

Tia Hellebaut is a retired Belgian track and field athlete, as well as a chemist, who started out in her sports career in the heptathlon, and afterwards specialized in the high jump event. She has cleared 2.05 metres both indoors and outdoors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Limo</span> Kenyan long-distance runner

Richard Kipkemei Limo is a Kenyan athlete. He specializes in long distance track events. He won the 5000 m gold medal at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics.

Joan Jepkorir Aiyabei is a Kenyan long-distance runner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Borlée</span> Former Belgian athlete

Jacques Borlée is a former Belgian athlete, and the father and coach of athletes Olivia Borlée, Kevin, Jonathan and Dylan Borlée. He was voted European Athletics Coach of the Year in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nafissatou Thiam</span> Belgian athlete (born 1994)

Nafissatou "Nafi" Thiam is a Belgian athlete specialising in multi-event competition. She is the first athlete with three multi-event gold medals at the Olympic Games, winning the heptathlon at the 2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics. Her three individual Olympic golds in a row for a woman equals the record of Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland in the hammer and Faith Kipyegon in the 1500 metres Thiam is also the only Belgian athlete to successfully defend an Olympic title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sifan Hassan</span> Dutch middle- and long-distance runner (born 1993)

Sifan Hassan is a Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world-leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1,500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second of three women to complete an Olympic distance double. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Hassan secured a bronze medal in both the women's 5,000 m and 10,000 m events and gold in the women's marathon, becoming the only woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres and Marathon races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bashir Abdi</span> Somali-Belgian athlete

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maureen Koster</span> Dutch middle-distance runner

Maureen Koster is a Dutch middle-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won the bronze medal in the 3000 metres at the 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Prague.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Carton</span> Belgian athlete

Louise Carton is a Belgian athlete who competes in cross-country long-distance running.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgian Indoor Athletics Championships</span>

The Belgian Indoor Athletics Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organised by the Royal Belgian Athletics League, which serves as the Belgian national championship for the sport. Typically held over two to three days in February during the Belgian winter, it was first added to the national calendar in 1989, supplementing the main outdoor Belgian Athletics Championships held in the summer since 1889. National championships in relay and combined track and field events are contested separately.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadia Battocletti</span> Italian long-distance runner (born 2000)

Nadia Battocletti is an Italian female middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 5000 m and 10000 m races at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Battocletti won a silver medal in the 10,000 m and placed fourth in the 5000 m race.

The Belgian Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running organised by the Royal Belgian Athletics League that serves as the national championship for the sport in Belgium. It is usually held in February or March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Hendrix</span> Belgian long-distance runner

Robin Hendrix is a Belgian long-distance runner. He is the Belgian indoor record holder for the 5000 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane van Es</span> Dutch athlete

Diane van Es is a Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2024 European Championships and the bronze medal in the 5000 metres at the 2021 European Under-23 Championships.

Jente Hauttekeete is a Belgian athlete specializing in the heptathlon and the decathlon.

Dieter Kersten is a Belgian athlete who specializes in long distance and cross-country running.

Helena Ponette is a Belgian sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. She competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a 400 metres runner and as a member of the Belgian women's 4x400 metres and mixed 4x400 metres relay teams. She also participated at multiple World and European Athletics championships, indoor and outdoor, individually and as a member of the 4x400 metres relay teams. She was national champion in the women's 400 metres in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Heymans</span> Belgian middle distance runner

John Heymans is a Belgian long-distance runner. He has won two national titles. He is a member of Royal Excelsior Club Brussels. After finishing his MSc in Bioengineering and Nanotechnology from the KU Leuven in September 2022, he decided to become a professional athlete.

References

  1. 1 2 "Isaac Kimeli Palmares". Vlaamse Atletiek Liga (in Dutch). Vlaamse Atletiek Liga. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Isaac KIMELI – Athlete Profile". World Athletics . Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 "From not speaking the language to competing for the national team at Tokyo 2020, Belgian runner Isaac Kimeli is aiming for gold". CNN. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  4. "Third time lucky for Duarte at European Cross as Bezabeh regains title". World Athletics. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  5. "Kimeli strikes gold as Italy claim team title". European Athletics Association. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  6. "ISAAC KIMELI RUNS HIS WAY TO A EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP MEDAL". www.focusonbelgium.be. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  7. "Can retains title while Fsiha breaks through at European Cross in Lisbon". World Athletics. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  8. "Norwegian double as Ingebrigtsen and Grovdal retain European cross titles". World Athletics. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  9. "Kimeli doet er nog een Belgische medaille bij op EK indoor: zilver op 3.000 meter" (in Dutch). Sporza. 7 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  10. "Isaac Kimeli imponeert met 8e plaats op de 5.000 meter: "Ik had het zelf niet verwacht"" (in Dutch). Sporza. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.