Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5000 m.
Catherine Nyambura Ndereba is a retired Kenyan marathon runner. Between 2003 and 2008, she finished in the top two in five successive global championship marathons. Ndereba has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008. She is also a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon and a two-time winner of the Chicago Marathon. It was at the latter in 2001 that she broke the women's marathon world record with a time of 2:18:47.
Moses Cheruiyot Mosop is a Kenyan middle and long distance athlete. He competed for Kenya at the 2004 Olympic Games and went on to take 10,000 metres bronze at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. He has also been successful in cross country running, having won the silver at the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships as well as team gold with Kenya in 2007 and 2009.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Regarded as one of the greatest marathon runners of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion, and was the world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:01:09 set at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, until that record was broken by Kelvin Kiptum at the Chicago Marathon on 8 October 2023 with a time of 2:00:35. He has run five of the nine fastest marathons in history.
Rita Jeptoo is a Kenyan marathon runner. Originally a winner of the Boston Marathon three times, including setting the then course record at 2:18:57 in 2014, she had also won marathons in Chicago, Stockholm, and Milan, as well as having represented Kenya in the event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. She was the bronze medalist at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships.
Kara Goucher is an American long-distance runner. She was the 10,000 meters silver medalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and represented the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. She made her marathon debut in 2008 and finished third the following year at the Boston Marathon.
Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the 2011 and 2013 World Champion in the marathon. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and New York City Marathons in 2010. Her personal best for the distance is 2:19:50 hours, set at the London Marathon in 2012. At age 37, Kiplagat won the 2017 Boston Marathon in a time of 2:21:52 hours, and won the marathon silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in London. At age 39, she was second at the 2019 Boston Marathon and fourth in the event at the following World Championships. At age 41, she won the 2021 Boston Marathon, becoming the oldest-ever winner of a World Marathon Major.
Koren Jelela, also known as Koren Jelila Yal, is an Ethiopian long-distance runner.
Kimberley Smith is a New Zealand middle-distance and long-distance runner who retired in 2016.
Mathew Kipkoech Kisorio is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in road running and cross country running competitions. He has a half marathon best of 58:46 minutes and a marathon best of 2:07:06 hours. On the roads, he has won the Philadelphia Half Marathon, Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon and Stramilano races.
Desiree "Des" Nicole Linden is an American long-distance runner. She represented the United States in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics women's marathon. In 2018, she won the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American in 33 years to win the woman's category in the event. She holds the women's 50K world record of 2:59:54.
Abderrahime Bouramdane is a Moroccan long-distance runner who competes in marathons. He represented Morocco at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. After winning his first two marathons in Tunis and Marrakesh, Bouramdane represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics in 2005 and 2007.
Laban Kipngetich Korir is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running competitions. He is currently part of the NN Running Team, an international team of elite long-distance runners managed by Global Sports Communication in Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Caroline Rotich is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon races. She has won the Las Vegas Marathon, New York Half Marathon and the Boston Marathon. She represented Kenya at the World Championships in Athletics in 2011 and has personal bests of 2:23:22 for the marathon and 1:09:09 for the half marathon.
Deressa Chimsa Edae is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. He represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. His personal best of 2:05:42 hours was set at the 2012 Dubai Marathon. He won the Daegu Marathon in 2010.
Benjamin True is an American track and field and cross-country athlete, who competed for Dartmouth College and currently trains in Hanover, New Hampshire, while competing for Saucony and In the Arena. True was the top American at both the 2011 and 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, as well as the 2011 USATF Road Running Circuit Champion, winning the 5 km and 10 km Road Championships along the way.
Lemi Berhanu Hayle, also known as Berhanu Lemi, is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He competed in the marathon event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China, placing 15th. His personal best of 2:04:33 hours, set in 2015, ranks him in the world's top 15 athletes for the distance. In April 2016, he won the Boston Marathon.
Peres Jepchirchir is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes mainly in road running competitions. She won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Jepchirchir was the champion at the 2016 and 2020 World Half Marathon Championships. She claimed victories at the 2021 New York City and 2022 Boston Marathon and finished third at the 2023 London Marathon.
Paul Kipchumba Lonyangata is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running events. He is a marathon runner with a personal best of 2:06:10 and has won marathons in Lisbon, Shanghai, Taipei and Paris. He was a bronze medallist at the World Junior Championships in Athletics in 2010.
United States 