This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: She was in the closing ceremony of Tokyo 2020 for her management of the Olympic Refugee team.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2021)
Tegla Chepkite Loroupe (born 9 December 1979) is a Kenyan long-distance track and road runner. She is also a global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights and education. Loroupe holds the world records for 25 and 30 kilometers and previously held the world marathon record. She was the first African woman to hold the marathon World Record, which she held from 19 April 1998 until 30 September 2001. She is the three-time World Half-Marathon champion. Loroupe was also the first woman from Africa to win the New York City Marathon, which she has won twice. She has won marathons in London, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Berlin and Rome.
In 2016, she was the person organizing the Refugee Team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.[3]
Biography
Tegla Loroupe was born in Kapsait village in the Lelan division of West Pokot District. It is situated in the Great Rift Valley, approximately 600 kilometres north of Nairobi. Her father and mother are from the Pokot tribe, a Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting parts of northern Kenya, eastern Uganda and southern Ethiopia.[3]
Loroupe was told by her father that she was useless and her career might be babysitting.[3] She grew up with 24 siblings. The Pokots being a polygamous culture, her father had four wives. She spent her childhood working fields, tending cattle and looking after younger brothers and sisters.
At the age of six, Loroupe started school at Kapsait Elementary school; she had to run ten kilometers to and from school every morning. At school, she became aware of her potential as an athlete when she won races held over a distance of 800 or 1500 meters against much older students. She decided to pursue a career as a runner. However, she was not supported by anyone but her mother.
The Kenyan athletics federation, Athletics Kenya, did not support her at first, thinking Loroupe too small and too thin. However, after she won a prestigious cross country barefoot race in 1988, this changed. She began to train to compete internationally the following year, earning her first pair of running shoes in 1989, which she wore only for particularly rough races. She was nominated for the junior race of the 1989 IAAF World Cross Country Championships finishing 28th. She competed again at the 1990 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, finishing 16th in the junior race.
In 1994, Loroupe ran her first major marathon in New York. Running against the world's strongest competition, she won. As a consequence she was idolised by many young people in Africa: at last, a woman champion to complement the many successful male runners. She won the New York City Marathon again in 1995 and finished 3rd in 1998.
Between 1997 and 1999, she won three world titles a row over the half marathon distance. She won Rotterdam Marathon three times between 1997 and 1999. She won Berlin Marathon in 1999 and finished second in 2001. She finished second at the 1999 Osaka International Ladies Marathon.
During the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, favoured to win both the marathon and the 10,000 meters, she suffered from violent food poisoning the night before the race. Nevertheless, she fought through the marathon race, finishing 13th, then, the next day, ran the 10,000 metres, finishing 5th,[1] running barefoot in both races, a feat she later stated she achieved out of a sense of duty to all the people taking her as a bearer of hope in her home country. Until the end of 2001, she continued to suffer from various health problems.
Loroupe competed at the 2005 World Championships marathon race in Helsinki, Finland, but finished only 40th. In February 2006 she won the Hong Kong Half-Marathon. The same year she finished 5th in the Rotterdam Marathon and 2nd in the Venice Marathon. In 2007, she participated again the New York City Marathon, finishing 8th.
Loroupe's biggest successes include world records over 20, 25 and 30 kilometers as well as the past record over the marathon distance. She used to hold the One Hour running World record of 18,340m set in Borgholzhausen, Germany, but the record was broken by Dire Tune of Ethiopia ten years later, in 2008 (new record 18,517m).[8]
In 2003, Loroupe created an annual series of Peace Marathons sponsored by the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation "Peace Through Sports". Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ambassadors and government officials run with warriors and nomadic groups in her native Kenya, in Uganda and in Sudan, to bring peace to an area plagued by raiding warriors from battling tribes. In 2010 the Kenyan Government lauded her achievements as hundreds of warriors had laid down their weapons.[9]
The 2006 Peace Marathon was held on 18 November 2006, in Kapenguria, Kenya. Two thousand warriors from six tribes competed. The next Peace Marathon was 15 November 2008 in Kapenguria, Kenya. National ambassadors to Kenya participated, together with the Prime Minister, and several Kenyan, Tanzanian, and Ugandan Ministers. The Peace Marathon has been held each year since then, with the exception of the past two Covid years. Winners of the races often begin professional training in long-distance running, or join the training team of ex-warriors.
In February 2007, she was named the Oxfam Ambassador of Sport and Peace to Darfur. In December 2006, she travelled with George Clooney, Joey Cheek, and Don Cheadle to Beijing, Cairo, and New York on a diplomatic mission to bring an end to violence in Darfur. She won the "Community Hero" category at the 2007 Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year awards.[10]
In November 2009, Tegla represented the Shoe4Africa team.[11] running the New York Marathon alongside founder Toby Tanser and actress Sarah Jones[12] finishing in 3:54:02.
Loroupe is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organisation.[13]
As reported by Olympic news outlet Around the Rings, the IOC recognised six women, five from each continent and one to represent the world, for their achievements and their work to promote women's sport. Loroupe was awarded the world trophy.
In 2016, she was the Chef de Mission organizing the Refugee Team for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[3] At those games Loroupe was inducted into the Olympians for life project for her work in promoting peace.[15] In October 2016 Loroupe was awarded United Nations Person of the Year.[16]
Kapenguria is a town in Kenya. It is the capital and largest urban center of West Pokot County. The town lies north east of Kitale on the A1 road along Kitale-Lodwar road in north Western Kenya. Kapenguria forms a municipality with a population of 40,751 as per the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census.
Susan Chepkemei is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who competes in the 10,000 metres and marathon. In 2001, she won the Rotterdam Marathon and came first in the Great North Run, as well as winning the silver medal in the World Half Marathon Championships. She won also won the silver medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in the 10,000 m.
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.
West Pokot County is a county in Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kapenguria. The county covers an area of approximately 9,169.4 square kilometers and stretches a distance of 132 kilometers from north to south. West Pokot County is bordered to the north by Turkana County, to the east by Baringo County, to the southeast by Elgeyo-Marakwet County, to the south by Trans Nzoia County and to the west by Uganda. According to the 2019 census, the county has a population of 621,241. The county is home to Tegla Loroupe, one of the most famous Kenyan female runners.
Carolina Alwina Hubertina "Carla" Beurskens was one of Holland's most prominent female long-distance runners from the second half of the 1970s until well into the 1990s, including all distances from 3000 metres to the marathon. During the greater part of this period she was most successful at the longer distance.
Elizabeth Chepkwana Rumokol is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who began as a cross country runner before moving into road running, including the marathon. She twice represented her country at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
Dire Tune Arissi is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner.
Germán Silva Martínez is a Mexican former long-distance runner who specialized in the marathon. His foremost achievements were back-to-back victories at the New York City Marathon in 1994 and 1995. He represented Mexico twice at the Summer Olympics, in 1992 and 1996. He also competed at the World Championships in Athletics on two occasions. His personal best for the marathon is two hours, eight minutes, and 56 seconds.
Sammy Kirop Kitwara is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running events. He is coached by Moses Kiptanui. As of November 2023 he is the 33rd fastest half marathon runner in history, having run 58.48 in 2011, which was the 4th fastest ever at the time.
Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich is a Kenyan professional athlete who specialises in long-distance running, competing in events ranging from 10 km to the marathon. He was the bronze medallist in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is the former world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:03:23, which he set at the 2013 Berlin Marathon. He has run under 2 hours 4 minutes for the marathon on four occasions.
Sharon Jemutai Cherop is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She won a bronze medal at the age of sixteen in the 5000 metres at the World Junior Championships. She was the bronze medal winner in the marathon at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and won the Boston Marathon in 2012.
Wilson Kwambai Chebet is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. He has a marathon best of 2:05:27 hours.
The Tegla Loroupe Peace Race is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in November in Kapenguria, West Pokot County, Kenya. First held in 2003, the race was created by Kenyan runner Tegla Loroupe to bring together warriors of rival tribes to reduce conflict in the region. The event features separate 10K races for elite long-distance runners and local warriors. There is also a race for children and a VIP race for politicians and dignitaries. The race raises funds for the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation, a charitable body focused education, sports and medical issues.
Helena Loshanyang Kirop is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in marathon running. Her personal best for the distance is 2:23:37 hours and she has won the Prague International Marathon and Venice Marathon.
Nelly Aerts is a Belgian former long-distance runner who competed in the marathon. She represented Belgium at the 1990 European Athletics Championships and won marathons in Rotterdam and Brussels. Her personal bests of 1:11:32 for the half marathon and 2:33:33 hours for the marathon are former national records.
Jemima Jelagat Sumgong is a Kenyan long-distance runner specialising in marathon races.
Levy Matebo Omari is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes mainly in marathon races. Matebo has a personal best of 2:05:16 hours for the 42.195 km distance, which he set as a runner-up at the 2011 Frankfurt Marathon. He was also second at the Boston Marathon in 2012. He has won marathons in Brussels and Barcelona. In addition to the marathon, he has a half marathon best of 1:00:06 hours.
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.
The Athlete Refugee Team (ART) is a delegation under which refugee athletes can compete collectively at IAAF competitions. The official IAAF logo was used as the team's flag until 2019. World Athletics collaborated with Kenyan long-distance runner Tegla Loroupe to form the team in 2014 as a short-term response to the growing refugee crisis that left millions of people dislocated or stateless. However, it has since turned into a sort of permanent feature at World Athletics events due to the refugee crisis only worsening. Many of the athletes originate from a variety of nations such as: Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Ethiopia. They include a majority of runners, as well as professional swimmers, material artists, etc.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
