Elijah Lagat

Last updated

Elijah Lagat
Personal information
NationalityKenyan
Born (1966-06-19) 19 June 1966 (age 57)
Saniak, Nandi Kenya
Education University of Eastern Africa, Baraton
Africa Nazarene University
OccupationPolitician
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event Marathon
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals DNF
Personal best2:07:41

Elijah Kiptarbei Lagat (born 19 June 1966) was the winner of the 104th running of the Boston Marathon held in 2000. He won in the closest finish in the race's history when he edged out Gezahegne Abera of Ethiopia and fellow Kenyan and previous year's champion, Moses Tanui. Abera and Lagat were both clocked at 2 hours 9 minutes and 47 seconds while Tanui finished three seconds back. Lagat's win enabled the Kenyans to capture the individual men's Boston Marathon title for the 10th straight year. This is a record that still stands.

Contents

Early life

Lagat was born and raised in Saniak, Kenya in the Nandi District.[ citation needed ]

2000 Sydney Olympics Marathon Controversy

Lagat's win in the Boston Marathon initially gave him a spot on Kenya's marathon team in the 2000 Olympics. Lagat indicated his enthusiasm for running in the Olympics immediately after Boston. However, later in the year the director of the Kenyan Amateur Athletics Association, David Okeyo, replaced the three runners who had initially made the team (Lagat, Tanui and Japhet Kosgei) with three other Kenyans Ondoro Osoro, Erick Wainaina and Kenneth Cheruiyot. He claimed that the three who had initially made the team had not been training hard enough. This move may have been precipitated by poor Kenyan showings in the Olympic marathons in the past. It also may have been brought about by the three initial qualifiers' criticism of the Kenyan Amateur Athletics Association officials. Despite Kenya's many successes in marathoning, they were unable to secure an Olympic gold medal until Samuel Wanjiru's record setting run in the 2008 Beijing games.

Later in the summer of 2000 however, Onsaro was shot in a carjacking incident. Lagat found his way back onto the team as a replacement after being clearly miffed by what he called a strange dismissal from the team. When the Sydney Olympics finally came about, Lagat was on the team and started the race but did not finish. [1] He blamed his failure to finish on excessive preparation for the Olympic marathon; he claimed he wanted to show the Kenyan athletics officials he really could win but overtrained as a result. [2]

Motivation

Lagat began running simply to lose weight and not necessarily to compete at the highest level of the sport. As a young man, a physician told him that he "had a lot of fat around his heart" and needed to lose weight. He obliged and his weight decreased from 158 pounds in 1992 to 125 by the time he won the Boston Marathon. [3] He started jogging in 1993 and began competing in 1994. He was already 27 when he first began competing; his late start in the sport is unusual and a testament to his innate talent. Before running, Lagat worked as an educational administrator before switching to full-time athlete. [4]

Other victories

Lagat won the Prague Marathon in 1998 and the Berlin Marathon in 1997. [5] His best time was a 2:07:41 during his win in Berlin.

He tried to defend his Boston title in 2001 but finished 17th with a time of 2:17:59 that year. He has not competed at the same level since then.

Politics

Prior to the 2002 general elections, Lagat was persuaded by his friends to vie for the Emgwen Constituency parliamentary seats. After initial resistance, Lagat agreed and vied for the seat on KANU ticket. He lost, however, to Stephen Kipkiyeny Tarus who represented the victorious NARC coalition. After the elections, Lagat continued his athletics career. [6]

At the 2007 parliamentary elections, Lagat successfully vied for Emgwen Constituency parliamentary seat on ODM ticket, beating Tarus, who now represented the PNU party. [7]

Education

He has a degree in history from University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, and a degree for an MBA in Strategic Management at Africa Nazarene University. [6]

Personal life

Lagat is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. [8]

Achievements

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya
1993 Mombasa Marathon Mombasa, Kenya2ndMarathon2:17:14
1995 Frankfurt Marathon Frankfurt, Germany2ndMarathon2:12:40
1996 Rotterdam Marathon Rotterdam, Netherlands7thMarathon2:11:54
New York City Marathon New York City, United States19thMarathon2:18:35
1997 Turin Marathon Turin, Italy2ndMarathon2:09:19
Berlin Marathon Berlin, Germany1stMarathon2:07:41
1998 Prague Marathon Prague, Czech Republic1stMarathon2:08:52
Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States10thMarathon2:10:33
1999 Paris Marathon Paris, France5thMarathon2:08:50
New York City Marathon New York City, United States6thMarathon2:09:59
2000 Boston Marathon Boston, United States1stMarathon2:09:47
Olympic Games Sydney—Marathon DNF
2001 Boston Marathon Boston, United States17thMarathon2:17:59
Madrid Marathon Madrid, Spain6thMarathon2:12:25

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Lagat</span> Kenyan-American runner

Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat is a Kenyan-American middle and long-distance runner.

Paul Kipketer Korir is a middle distance athlete from Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gezahegne Abera</span> Ethiopian long-distance runner

Gezahegne Abera is an Ethiopian athlete and winner of the marathon race at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya at the 2004 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Kenya competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Olympics, except the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the African and United States boycott.

Moses Tanui is a former Kenyan long-distance runner who won the gold medal over 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galen Rupp</span> American long-distance runner

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.

Ibrahim Kipkemboi Hussein is a retired long-distance runner from Kenya, who was a three-time winner of the Boston Marathon in 1988, 1991, and 1992. He was also the first winner from Kenya of the New York City Marathon in 1987, and multiple other marathons in his years. He and his wife Zainab Ibrahim are both alumni at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. Ibrahim Hussein is among many athletes on the Hall of Fame in New Mexico. The couple has five children, Hussein Ibrahim, Farida Ibrahim, Hadija Ibrahim, Jamal Ibrahim and Warda Ibrahim.

Kenneth Cheruiyot is an athlete from Kenya who specialises in long-distance running. He is most famous for winning the Rotterdam Marathon in 2000. He finished second in the event in 2001 and 2002. In 2002 he fell to the ground and broke his arm after 10 kilometers of running, but still managed to finish and even grab silver.

Kaptagat is a settlement in Uasin Gishu County, in the southwestern part of Kenya. This part of the country, where the two counties of Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet County share a border, is used by the majority of Kenyan professional long-distance runners to train for professional competition. Eliud Kipchoge, the former marathon world record holder, who also doubles as the Tokyo Olympics and Rio Olympics marathon gold medalist, maintains a training camp in Kaptagat.

Alice Jemeli Timbilil is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed over 10,000 metres at both the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.

The following lists events that happened during 2008 in Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abel Kirui</span> Kenyan long-distance runner

Abel Kirui is a long-distance runner from Kenya who competes in marathons. He had back-to-back wins in the World Championship marathon in 2009 and 2011. Kirui won in 2009 with a time of 2:06:54, then defended his title with a winning margin of two minutes and 28 seconds – the largest ever margin at the World Championship event. He earned the silver medal in the 2012 London Olympic marathon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Kiprotich</span> Ugandan long-distance runner

Stephen Kiprotich is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is an Olympic marathon champion, having won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Kiprotich also won a gold at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. After Ethiopia's Gezahegne Abera, he is the second person to follow an Olympic marathon title with a world championship gold medal for the same event.

Thomas Osano is a Kenyan former long-distance runner who competed across track, road, and cross country running disciplines. His greatest individual honour was a 10,000 metres gold medal at the 1991 All-Africa Games. He also shared in a team gold medal with Kenya at the 1993 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 Boston Marathon</span>

The 2000 Boston Marathon was the 104th running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States and was held on April 17. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Elijah Lagat in a time of 2:09:47 hours and the women's race was won in 2:26:11 by Catherine Ndereba, also Kenyan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Kipkoech</span> Kenyan marathon runner

Raymond Kipkoech is a Kenyan marathon runner who won the 2002 Berlin Marathon. He also won the 2004 Venice Marathon, the 2005 Xiamen International Marathon, and the 2011 Jerusalem Marathon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Ngolepus</span> Kenyan marathon runner

Joseph Ngolepus is a Kenyan former marathon runner who won the 2001 Berlin Marathon, and finished third at the 2003 London Marathon. He also won the 2003 CPC Loop Den Haag half marathon, the 2004 Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon, the 2006 Madrid Marathon, and the 2008 Paderborn Easter Run half marathon.

Erick Kimaiyo Kimase is a Kenyan former marathon runner who came second at the 1997 Berlin Marathon, and won the Honolulu and Baltimore Marathons on multiple occasions. Kimaiyo now works as a marathon coach, and trains current women's world record holder Brigid Kosgei.

Philemon Rono, nicknamed the "baby police", is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the marathon. He holds the Canadian all-comers' record in the marathon, having run the fastest marathon ever in Canada of 2:05:00 to win the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Rono is a three-time winner of this marathon, having won the race in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Joseph Kamau is a former professional long-distance runner from Kenya who finished second in the 1997 Boston Marathon and third in the 1996 New York City Marathon.

References

  1. ↑ "Marathoner Elijah Lagat back on Kenya Olympic team". 31 July 2000. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ↑ Burris, Joe. "Lagat had Olympic disappointment after Boston victory". Boston Globe . Retrieved 20 October 2006.
  3. ↑ "Kenyans Cruise In Boston". CBS News . 19 April 1999. Retrieved 20 October 2006.
  4. ↑ "On doctor's advice, Lagat sheds weight and gains the heart of a winner". Active.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2003. Retrieved 20 October 2006.
  5. ↑ "Lagat takes men's title; Roba falls short". ESPN. 18 April 2000. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  6. 1 2 "From the racetrack to parliament". The Standard. 12 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  7. ↑ "Election results 2007 – Emgwen Constituency". Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  8. ↑ Sang, Godfrey (9 March 2021). "Adventist Missionary Volunteer Society in Kenya (1932-1995)". Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
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.