Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | October 26, 1987 |
Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) |
Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) |
Sport | |
Country | Kenya |
Sport | Athletics |
Event | Men's 20km Walk |
Samuel Ireri Gathimba (born 26 October 1987) is a Kenyan racewalking athlete. He was the 20 kilometres walk gold medallist at the African Championships in Athletics in 2016. He holds a personal best of 1:19:24 hours.
Gathimba emerged at international level in 2014, taking a silver medal at the 2014 African Championships in Athletics behind Lebogang Shange of South Africa. He set a personal best of 1:23:59 hours to place second at the national championships that year, behind David Kimutai Rotich. [1] [2] He topped the podium at the 2015 national trials with a new best of 1:23:12 hours, which ranked him in the world's top 100 for the first time. [3] [4] He again demonstrated his place among the continent's best at the 2015 African Games where he lost out on the gold to Shange by a margin of one second. [5]
The 2016 season proved to be a breakthrough for Gathimba. At the 2016 African Championships in Athletics he was a gold medallist by a large margin, crossing the line in a championship record of 1:19:24 hours. This was a Kenyan record and was 22 seconds off Hatem Ghoula's near two-decade-old African best. [6]
He has qualified to represent Kenya at the 2020 Summer Olympics. [7]
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | African Championships | Marrakech, Morocco | 2nd | 20 km walk | 1:27:11 |
2015 | African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | 2nd | 20 km walk | 1:26:44 |
2016 | African Championships | Durban, South Africa | 1st | 20 km walk | 1:19:24 CR |
2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 3rd | 20 km walk | 1:19:51 |
African Championships | Asaba, Nigeria | 1st | 20 km walk | 1:25:14 | |
2019 | African Games | Rabat, Morocco | 1st | 20 km walk | 1:22:48 |
2022 | African Championships | Port Louis, Mauritius | 1st | 20 km walk | 1:22:01 |
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