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Personal information | |
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Nationality | Kenyan |
Born | Eldoret, Kenya [1] | June 15, 1991
Sport | |
Sport | Long-distance running |
Event | 800 m – 10 km |
College team | University of Arizona |
Club | U.S. Army |
Medal record |
Lawi Lalang (born June 15, 1991) is a Kenyan-American runner.
His elder brother Boaz Kiplagat Lalang is a middle distance runner, who specialises in the 5000 metres. Lalang was drafted into the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program on a track to becoming a U.S. citizen. [2] He switched athletic allegiance from Kenya to the US on May 17, 2018. [3]
In college, Lalang ran for the University of Arizona. [4] Lawi Lalang was coached by James Li of the University of Arizona, who also coaches other eminent Kenyan-American runners including Bernard Lagat. [5] Lalang won 2011 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships titles. In 2012, he won bronze at both the 2012 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships and at the 2012 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships (5,000 m). In 2013 he won both 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the 2013 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 2014 he took two silver medals at the 2014 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships before finishing with a silver and a gold at the 2014 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. [3]
Representing the US in international competition, Lalang won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2019 Pan American Games. [3]
Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat is a Kenyan-American former middle and long-distance runner.
Dathan James Ritzenhein 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 broken by Bernard Lagat. He is a three-time national cross country champion with wins at the USA Cross Country Championships in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Formerly a Nike athlete for the majority of his professional career, Dathan joined the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project team in 2017. In early May 2020, he announced his retirement from competition. He signed with the Swiss shoe brand On shortly thereafter in June 2020 and currently acts as the coach for the OAC in Boulder, Colorado.
Galen Rupp is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in the men's 10,000 meters in London and the bronze medal in the men's marathon in Rio de Janeiro. Rupp competed for the University of Oregon and trained under Alberto Salazar as a member of the Nike Oregon Project. He won the 2017 Chicago Marathon, becoming the first American to do so since Khalid Khannouchi in 2002. Rupp won the marathon at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta with a time of 2:09:20, and qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where he finished eighth.
Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego is a Kenyan-born American long- and middle-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 10,000 metres at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the silver medalist in the same race at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She has a personal record of 30:38.35 minutes for that event and her 5000 metres best of 14:30.42 minutes makes her the second fastest Kenyan woman for the distance.
Chris Derrick is an American distance runner who won 3 consecutive US Cross Country Championships in 2013–15. He attended Stanford University, where he earned 14 All-American honors and holds an American junior record in the 5000 meters.
Samuel Chelanga is a Kenyan-born American track and field athlete who competed for Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, from 2008 to 2011. He set the NCAA 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, on May 1, 2010. His brother, Joshua Chelanga, is a professional marathon runner.
Kennedy Kithuka is a Kenyan former cross country and track runner for Texas Tech under head coach Wes Kittley.
Edward Cheserek is a Kenyan distance runner. He is a 17-time NCAA champion collegiate distance runner for the University of Oregon. Cheserek was the most highly recruited high school distance runner in the nation out of Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in New Jersey where he was named the Gatorade 2012-2013 National Cross Country Runner of the Year. In 2013, Cheserek became the first freshman in Oregon history to win the NCAA National Cross Country Championships. Cheserek repeated this feat in his sophomore and junior years at Oregon before coming in third in the race in 2016 during his senior year. In total, Cheserek has 17 NCAA National Titles, including two indoor distance medley relays and one cross-country team title.
Kate Avery is a British long-distance runner. She competes in track and road competitions but specialises in cross country running. She was twice silver medallist at the 2014 European Cross Country Championships and 2015, and also a gold medallist on both occasions as part of the Great Britain women's senior team. She became the first British woman to win the NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship in 2014, running for Iona College.
Grant Jackson Fisher is an American middle- and long-distance runner. Fisher holds American records in the 3000 m, two mile, 5000 m, and 10,000 m events. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Fisher won bronze medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 m, becoming the first American to medal in both events at an Olympic Games.
Stephen Sambu is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running competitions.
Leonard Essau Korir is an American long-distance runner who competes over distances from 5000 meters to the marathon. He is a two-time NCAA champion, winning an indoor 5000 m title and outdoor 10,000 meters title in 2011 for the Iona Gaels. He gained United States citizenship and began competing for his adoptive nation in 2016.
Betty Jo Geiger is an American former long-distance runner who competed in events ranging from 3000-meter run to the marathon.
James Li is a Chinese-American athletics coach at the University of Arizona. His teams have won 12 national championships. He is known for his work with international runners, including from Kenya and Sudan. Successful runners he has coached include Stephen Sambu, Lawi Lalang. and Bernard Lagat. Li has been at Arizona for 15 years as of 2018. Before that he spent 13 years at Washington State University. As of 2021 Li has retired from his position as coach at Arizona. He is currently the Head Coach for E-House Marathon Club in Shanghai, China
Karissa Schweizer is an American middle- and long-distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the women's 4x1500 meters relay. She competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters events finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. In 2020, she set the indoor 3000 meters American Record with a time of 8:25.70.
Sharon Lokedi is a Kenyan middle and long-distance runner. She won the 10,000 meters at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Lokedi has been a 10-time All-American & 12-time Big 12 champion, as of March 2019. In 2022, on her marathon debut, she won the New York City Marathon.
Elise Cranny is an American middle and long-distance runner. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is a four-time national champion and holds the American record in the indoor 5000 metres.
Nicolas Young is an American long-distance runner. He is a two-time NCAA champion having won both the 3000 m and 5000 m at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships while competing for Northern Arizona University. He also holds the collegiate records in the 5000 m (12:57.14) and 10,000 m (26:52.72), both set in 2024. He came out as gay in 2022.
George Beamish is a New Zealand middle- and long-distance runner, who won the 1500 metres at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. He holds the Oceania area record in the 3000 m steeplechase of 8:09.64 and the New Zealand record in the indoor 3000 m and 5000 m. He finished fifth at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the 3000 m steeplechase.
Alex Chesiro Masai is a Kenyan long-distance runner based in the United States. After initially specializing in the 5000 metres, he debuted in the marathon in 2024 to finish 9th at the 2024 Chicago Marathon. He is the brother of Olympians Moses Masai and Linet Masai, and he finished 6th at the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 5000 m.