Vivian Cheruiyot

[6]Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and cross country running, olympic champion in 5000 metres event. She represented Kenya at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal at the 5000 m and bronze medal at the 10000 m at the 2012 Olympics, silver medal at the 10000 m and gold medal at the 5000 m at the 2016 Olympics, setting the new Olympic record in 5000 m event. Cheruiyot won a silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and became the world champion in the event at the 2009 edition, repeating this achievement at the 2011 World Championships, where she doubled up by winning the 10000 m.

Vivian Cheruiyot

Cheruiyot at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot[1]
Nationality	Kenyan
Born	11 September 1983[2] Keiyo, Rift Valley, Kenya[1]
Height	5 ft 2 ^1⁄2 in (1.59 m)[1]
Weight	89 lb (40 kg)[1]
Sport
Country	Kenya
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	marathon, half marathon, 10,000 metres, 5000 metres
Achievements and titles
World finals	2007 5000 m,  Silver 2009 5000 m,  Gold 2011 10,000 m,  Gold 5000 m,  Gold 2015 10,000 m,  Gold
Olympic finals	2000 5000 m, 14th 2008 5000 m, 4th 2012 10,000 m,  Bronze 5000 m,  Silver 2016 10,000 m,  Silver 5000 m,  Gold
Personal best(s)	5000 m: 14:20.87[3] (Stockholm 2011) 10,000 m: 29:32.53[4] NR (Rio de Janeiro 2016) Marathon: 2:18:31[5](London 2018)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Kenya Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro 5000 m 2016 Rio de Janeiro 10,000 m 2012 London 5000 m 2012 London 10,000 m World Championships 2015 Beijing 10,000 m 2011 Daegu 5000 m 2011 Daegu 10,000 m 2009 Berlin 5000 m 2007 Osaka 5000 m World Indoor Championships 2010 Doha 3000 m World Cross Country Championships 2011 Punta Umbría Senior race 2011 Punta Umbría Senior team 2000 Vilamoura Junior race 2007 Mombasa Senior team 1999 Belfast Junior race 2002 Dublin Junior race World Junior Championships 2002 Kingston 5000 m World Youth Championships 1999 Bydgoszcz 3000 m Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi 5000 m African Championships 2010 Nairobi 5000 m All-Africa Games 1999 Johannesburg 5000 m African Junior Championships 2001 Réduit 5000 m World Marathon Majors 2018 London Marathon 2019 London Marathon 2018 New York Marathon

After taking a silver at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, she won a number of outdoor titles that year, becoming African champion, Commonwealth Games champion and IAAF Continental Cup champion, as well as winning the 2010 IAAF Diamond League title.

She holds the Kenyan record and Commonwealth record for the 10,000 m with her best time of 29:32.53, which was set at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Career

Cheruiyot is trained by Ricky Simms.[7] She was born near Keiyo in the Rift Valley Province, coming from the same village as another female runner Alice Timbilili.[8]

Her breakthrough year came in 1999: at the age of fifteen she took the junior silver medal at the 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships behind Werknesh Kidane. At the 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics she won the bronze medal in the 3000 metres. She earned a senior call-up for the 1999 All-Africa Games, where she managed a bronze medal in the 5000 metres. She became the junior champion at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She gained selection for the 2000 Olympic Games and reached the 5000 m final after setting personal bests in the qualifying rounds. She was much slower in the final and was the last runner to finish.[9]

Vivian Cheruiyot won the silver medal at the 5000 m final of the 2007 World Championships at Osaka in 14:58.50, behind Meseret Defar (14:57.91).[10]

In early 2009 she broke the Kenyan 3000 metres indoor record (8:30.53) in Birmingham and won the World's Best 10K race in Puerto Rico.[11] In May she won the Great Manchester Run 10K race. Cheruiyot won the women's 5000 m at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin with a time of 14 minutes 58.33 seconds, while countrywoman Sylvia Kibet took the silver. She closed the track season with a 3000 m silver and a 5000 m bronze medal at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final. She won the 2009 New Year's Eve San Silvestre Vallecana race.[12]

She retained her World's Best 10K title in 2010.[13] An appearance at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships resulted in a silver medal in the 3000 m behind Meseret Defar. She headed the Kenyan 5000 m challenge at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics in Nairobi and beat Defar on this occasion to take the African title.[14] After this, her main focus of the year was the 2010 IAAF Diamond League. She took victories in the 5000 m at the Meeting Areva and Memorial van Damme and was elected the inaugural Diamond League Trophy winner for the event on overall points.[15] She defeated Sentayehu Ejigu at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup to take the 5000 m gold medal for Africa.[16] Another gold medal in the event came at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where she headed a Kenyan podium sweep with Sylvia Kibet and Ines Chenonge.[17] She returned to Kenya to train and took an 8 km win at the Tuskys Cross Country meeting.[18] She ended the year on a high note with a win at the BOclassic 5K race on New Year's Eve.[19]

Cheruiyot began preparing for the World Cross Country Championships in January 2011 and came third at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country before overhauling Linet Masai to win the Cross de Itálica in Seville.[20][21] A second-place finish at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships guaranteed her a place in the Kenyan squad and, in contrast to her successes on the track, she was looking to win her first cross country medal on the world stage.[22] Her rival Masai led the initial charge at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, but Cheruiyot broke away on the final lap to secure the gold medal and lead Kenya to the women's team title.[23]

She started 2012 with a win at the World's Best 10K and improved her best on the roads to 30:47 minutes.[24] She opened the 2012 Diamond League circuit with narrow wins ahead of Meseret Defar, first in the 3000 m in Doha then over 5000 m in Rome.[25] She guaranteed her place at the Olympics by winning the 10,000 m trial in Nairobi in June.[26] At the Olympics, she won a silver medal in the 5000 metres and a bronze medal at the 10000 metres.[27]

In 2018, she won the 2018 London Marathon with a time of 2:18:31.

She finished second in the 2018 New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:26:02 far behind winner Mary Keitany in 2:22:48, and 20 seconds ahead of Shalane Flanagan who finished in 2:26:22.[28]

Personal bests

Cheruiyot at the 2011 World Championships

Cheruiyot in 2006

Event	Time (m:s)	Venue	Date
1500 m	4:06.65	Doha, Qatar	11 May 2007
3000 m	8:28.66	Stuttgart, Germany	23 September 2007
5000 m	14:20.87	Stockholm, Sweden	29 July 2011
10000 m	29:32.53	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	12 August 2016
10 km (road)	30:47	San Juan, Puerto Rico	26 February 2012
Marathon	2:18:31	London, Great Britain	22 April 2018

• All information taken from IAAF profile.

Achievements

Vivian Cheruiyot celebrates as she wins the Olympic 5000 metres

• Note: XC = Cross Country

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Kenya
1998	World XC Championships	Marrakech, Morocco	5th	Junior race (6 km)	19:47
1999	World XC Championships	Belfast, Northern Ireland	2nd	Junior race (6.124 km)	21:37
	All-Africa Games	Johannesburg, South Africa	3rd	5000 m	15:42.79
	World Youth Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	3rd	3000 m	9:04.42
2000	World XC Championships	Vilamoura, Portugal	1st	Junior race (6.29 km)	20:34
2001	World XC Championships	Oostende, Belgium	4th	Junior race (5.9 km)	20:22
	African Junior Championships	Réduit, Mauritius	1st	5000 m	16:19.54
2002	World XC Championships	Dublin, Ireland	3rd	Junior race (5.962 km)	20:22
	World Junior Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	3rd	5000 m	15:56.04
2004	World XC Championships	Brussels, Belgium	8th	Short race (4 km)	13:23
2006	World XC Championships	Fukuoka, Japan	8th	Short race (4 km)	13:10
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	3rd	3000 m	8:38.86
2007	World XC Championships	Mombasa, Kenya	8th	Long race (8 km)	28:10
	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	2nd	5000 m	14:58.50
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	2nd	3000 m	8:28.66 PB
			1st	5000 m	14:56.94
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	5th	5000 m	15:46.32
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	2nd	3000 m	8:44.64
			2nd	5000 m	14:54.60
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	1st	5000 m	14:57.97
	World Athletics Final	Thessaloniki, Greece	2nd	3000 m	8:30.61
			3rd	5000 m	15:26.21
2010	World Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	2nd	3000 m	8:51.85
	African Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	1st	5000 m	16:18.73
	Continental Cup	Split, Croatia	1st	5000 m	16:05.74
	Commonwealth Games	New Delhi, India	1st	5000 m	15:55.12
2011	World Cross Country Championships	Punta Umbría, Spain	1st	Senior race (8 km)	24:58
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	1st	5000 m	14:55.36
			1st	10,000 m	30:48.98
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	2nd	5000 m	15:04.73
			3rd	10,000 m	30:30.44
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	1st	10,000 m	31:41.31
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1st	5000 m	14:26.17 OR
			2nd	10,000 m	29:32.53 NR

• Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year: 2012[29]

Marathon competition record

Competition	Rank	Time	Location	Date
Vitoria Marathon	1st	2:41:09	Vitoria, Spain	13 April 2003
London Marathon	4th	2:23:50	London, Great Britain	23 April 2017
Frankfurt Marathon	1st	2:23:35	Frankfurt, Germany	29 October 2017
London Marathon	1st	2:18:31	London, Great Britain	22 April 2018
New York City Marathon	2nd	2:26:02	New York, United States	4 November 2018
London Marathon	2nd	2:20:14	London, Great Britain	28 April 2019
Valencia Marathon	4th	2:18:52	Valencia, Spain	1 December 2019

References

1. "Vivian Cheruiyot". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
2. "Vivian Cheruiyot". iaaf.org. International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
3. Peter Larsson (2 July 2017). "All-time women's best 5000m". Track and Field all-time Performances. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
4. Peter Larsson (28 June 2017). "All-time women's best 10 000m". Track and Field all-time Performances. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
5. Peter Larsson (17 June 2017). "All-time women's best marathon". Track and Field all-time Performances. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
6. "Potential shortfall of using the TGH/F 05 in France". dx.doi.org. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
7. The Standard, 28 January 2007:Back with a ‘killer kick’
8. Daily Nation, 11 August 1999: No changes expected in squad
9. Athletics at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games: Women's 5,000 metres. Sports-Reference. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
10. "2007 World Championships Women's 5000m final". IAAF. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2007.
11. "Kitwara and Cheruiyot, new champions and men's record at World's Best 10K". IAAF. 1 March 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
12. "favourite roles, Masai and Cheruiyot prevail in Madrid". IAAF. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
13. Kuehls, Dave (1 March 2010). "Masai and Cheruiyot take crowns in San Juan". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
14. Negash, Elshadai (29 July 2010). "Meite, Okagbare take 100m titles, Cheruiyot over Defar again in the 5000m – African champs Day 2". IAAF. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
15. Tyson Gay wraps up Diamond League title in Brussels. BBC Sport (27 August 2010). Retrieved 27 November 2010.
16. Ramsak, Bob (5 September 2010). EVENT Report – Women's 5000 Metres Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF. Retrieved on 27 November 2010.
17. Rowbottom, Mike (13 October 2010). "Women's relay team crowns Indian glory – Commonwealth Games, Day Seven". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
18. Macharia, David (22 November 2010). "Cheruiyot and Rotich prevail at Tuskys Cross Country". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
19. Sampaolo, Diego (1 January 2011). "Merga and Cheruiyot take dramatic victories in Bolzano". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
20. Wenig, Jorg (8 January 2011). "Kipchoge and Masai prevail in snowy Edinburgh". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
21. Valiente, Emeterio (16 January 2011). "Komon defends, Cheruiyot edges Masai in Seville". IAAF. Archived from the original on 19 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
22. Mutuota, Mutwiri (19 February 2011). "Mutai and Masai take hard fought wins in Nairobi; reigning World champs Ebuya and Chebet won't defend". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
23. Johnson, Len (20 March 2011). "Cheruiyot wins race of champions – Women's Senior Race Report – Punta Umbria 2011". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
24. Robinson, Javier Clavelo (27 February 2012). "Kitwara and Cheruiyot run to triple crown in San Juan 10Km". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
25. Martin, David (31 May 2012). "Bolt's blazing 9.76 one of seven world leads on electric night in Rome – Samsung Diamond League". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
26. Mutwiri, Mutuota (15 June 2012). "Cheruiyot takes Kenyan 10,000m Olympic Trials race in Nairobi". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
27. "Vivian Cheruiyot Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
28. https://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/about-the-race/results/overall-women
29. Ramsak, Bob (7 February 2012). "Cheruiyot and Pistorius win prestigious world sport awards". IAAF. Retrieved 28 April 2016.

External links

• Vivian Cheruiyot at World Athletics
• Read Vivian Cheruiyot's Rising Star Profile on spikesmag.com