Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ishmael Rokitto Kipkurui | |||||||||||||||||
Nationality | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||
Born | 10 February 2005 (18 years, 357 days old) [1] Baringo County [2] | |||||||||||||||||
Height | 162 cm (5 ft 4 in) [1] | |||||||||||||||||
Weight | 52 kg (115 lb) [1] | |||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Two miles 5000 metres | |||||||||||||||||
Club | Central Rift [1] | |||||||||||||||||
Coached by | Julius Kirwa Barnaba Kitilit [2] | |||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||
National finals |
| |||||||||||||||||
Personal bests | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||
Updated on 15 January 2024. |
Ishmael Rokitto Kipkurui (born 10 February 2005), also spelled Ishmael Kipkirui, Ishmael Kirui, or Ismael Kipkurui, is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. He was the individual winner of the 2023 World Cross Country Championships U20 race, leading his Kenyan team to a gold medal finish. He is also the Kenyan under-20 record-holder in the two miles run after his runner-up performance to Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the 2023 Meeting de Paris.
After trying for and failing to make the Kenyan team at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships, Kipkurui would not make his international debut until 2022, qualifying for the African Championships by virtue of his 2nd-place finish at the Kenyan Athletics Championships in the 5000 m. [1] [3] At the championships, he finished 6th in 13:49.13, 13 seconds behind winner Hailemariyam Amare despite dealing with an injury. [2]
Kipkurui began his 2023 season at the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships, competing in the U20 race. As the Kenyan team had trained together in a camp in Kigari, they had drafted a plan to use team tactics during the race, frequently checking on other athletes to encourage them to move together. [2] He won the individual race in 24:29, helping Kenya score a victory over Ethiopia by just one point. [4] [5] Kipkurui followed up his win with another victory and personal best of 7:41.38 in the 3000 m at the Maurie Plant Meet - Melbourne. [2]
Kipkurui only finished 4th at the Kenyan world championship trials in the 5000 m, behind Jacob Krop, Daniel Ebenyo, and Cornelius Kemboi. [1] However Simiyu was not selected for the Kenyan squad, opening up a final spot for Kipkirui to run in the 5000 m and advance to the finals. In the final, Kipkurui went with the early pace of 2:14 through the first two laps, but then broke from the pack and split a 62-second lap, leading the race for a full mile with no other athletes willing to catch him. [6] After 2400 metres, the chase pack had reeled in Kipkurui, and Kipkurui would gradually fade from then on finishing 10th overall. [7]
Kipkurui is from Baringo County, Kenya, and he is a member of the Central Rift training club. He is coached by Kenyan team head Julius Kirwa and his personal coach Barnaba Kitilit. He says that while many of his peers are fans of association football, he prefers athletics both has a participant and fan, and would "never cheat on [athletics] with football". [2]
In 2023, Kipkurui was a Form Three student in addition to being a professional athlete. This meant that he often had to run at 4 a.m. using torches to light his path in order to attend school on time at 6 a.m. Hebelieved that his win at the World Cross Country Championships U20 race was a "supernatural intervention" from his Maker. [2]
Event | Mark | Pl. | Competition | Venue | Date | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Two miles | 8:09.23 NU20R | ![]() | Meeting de Paris | Paris, France | 9 June 2023 | [1] |
5000 metres | 13:05.47 | 8th | Bislett Games | Oslo, Norway | 15 June 2023 | [1] |
Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the 5,000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5,000 m.
Joseph Ebuya is a Kenyan professional runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and was the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships champion.
Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa is a Kenyan professional athlete who has competed at the two Olympics, winning a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is also the Kenyan 5000 metres champion from 2007.
Benjamin Kiplagat was a Ugandan long-distance runner specialising in the 3000 metres steeplechase.
Patrick Tiernan is an Australian long-distance runner. While competing for Vilanova University, he won the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. He has represented Australia in several global competitions, including the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. He held the Australian record in the 10000 m from 2020 to 2022. Tiernan competes professionally for PUMA.
Grant Fisher is a Canadian-born American professional middle- and long-distance runner. He holds the American national records for the 5,000 (12:46.96) and 10,000 meters (26:33.84), both set in a 2022 breakthrough season outdoors, and the 3,000 meters (7:25.47) after a remarkable post-injury return late in the 2023 outdoor season. He placed fifth in the 10,000 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Fisher holds North American records in the 3000 meters, 5000 m and 10,000 m.
Aron Kifle Teklu is an Eritrean long-distance runner. He is the bronze medallist from the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia. Aron is also the silver medallist in the 10000m from both the 2016 World U20 Championships and the 2019 All-African Games.
Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo is a Kenyan born American track and field athlete. He is the 2016 Olympic silver medalist and the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist in the 5000 meters. He qualified for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the 5000m finishing in 15th place in a time of 13:30.88.
Jacob Kiplimo is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the world record holder for the half marathon, which he set on 21 November 2021 in Lisbon with a time of 57:31. He is also the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 10,000 metres bronze medallist and won bronze in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Kiplimo earned gold medals for the 5000 metres and 10,000 m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He is the 2020 World Half Marathon champion. He won silver and gold medal at the 2019 and 2023 World Cross Country Championships respectively.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner. Ingebrigtsen is the current world record holder for the indoor 1500 metres and the 2000 metres, and holds the world best time over the two mile distance. Ingebrigtsen is a two-time World champion, winning gold medals in the 5000 metres in 2022 and 2023 and a four-time European champion, winning gold medals in the 1500 m and 5000 m in 2018 and 2022. He also won a gold medal in the 1500 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting an Olympic and European record. In addition to the 1500 m, Ingebrigtsen holds European records in the mile and 5000 m, and is one of only three men to run a sub-3:30 1500 m, sub-7:30 3000 m and a sub-12:50 5000 m.
Selemon Barega Shirtaga is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, silver for the 5,000 metres at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Barega is a two-time 3,000 metres World Indoor Championship medallist, taking silver in 2018, and a gold in 2022.
Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui is a Kenyan-Kazakhstani professional long-distance runner who competes in distances from 3000 metres to the half marathon. She has worked at the Altay Athletics club in Kazakhstan since 2017 Coach by Ken Rotich Kenya and USA Richards Anderson she train with a group of number of athletes and others. At junior level she was twice African champion and shared in the team gold medal at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
Beatrice Chebet is a Kenyan long-distance runner. In 2022, she won the silver medal in the 5000 metres at the World Championships, and became Commonwealth, African and Diamond League champion. Chebet claimed the gold medal for the women's senior race at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships.
Lamecha Girma is an Ethiopian athlete who specialises in the 3,000 metres steeplechase. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the event and won silver medals at the 2019, 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships. Lamecha also won a silver in the 3,000 metres at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. He is the world indoor record holder for the 3,000 metres, which was set in February 2023. In June 2023 at the Meeting de Paris of the Diamond League, he broke the world record for the men's 3,000 metres steeplechase.
The men's 5000 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene from 21 to 24 July 2022.
The U20 men's race at the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships was held at the Bathurst in Australia, on February 18, 2023. Ishmael Kipkurui from Kenya won the gold medal by 1 second over Kenyan Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot, while Boki Diriba finished third.
The men's 5000 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on 24 and 27 August 2023.
Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot is a Kenyan runner who competes in track and field and cross-country. He holds the current world junior record in the mile run.
Justus Soget is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. He was the bronze medalist at the 2018 World U20 Championships in the men's 1500 metres.
Hicham Akankam, also known as Hicham Akenkam or Akankam Hicham, is a Moroccan middle- and long distance runner specializing in the 1500 metres. He was the 2023 Moroccan Athletics Championships winner, and he has represented Morocco in a variety of disciplines including while winning a gold medal at the 2023 Francophone Games.