Wilson Kipketer
Encyclopedia
Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

n born Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 former middle distance
Middle distance track event
Middle distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle distance event. The 880 yard run, or half mile, was the forebear to the...

 runner
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...

. He holds the current indoor world records at the 1000 and 800 metres distance. While dominating the 800 m distance for a decade, remaining undefeated for a three-year period and running 8 of the 17 currently all-time fastest times, he never won an Olympic gold medal. He did, however, win gold medals in three successive editions of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...

. Kipketer's 800 meters world record stood for almost 13 years. It was surpassed on August 22, 2010, when David Rudisha
David Rudisha
David Lekuta Rudisha is a Kenyan middle distance runner and world record holder in the 800 metres with a time of 1:41.01. Rudisha holds four of the ten fastest times for this event.-Early life:...

 beat it by 0.02 seconds, running 1:41:09 (and a week later 1:41.01).

He represented both Sparta
Sparta (Athletic club)
Sparta Atletik is a Danish track and field club, and one of the leading clubs in Denmark.The club is known for winning the major part of the individual medals at the Danish championships, and having the most athletes represented on the different national teams.The most famous athlete ever to have...

 and KIF.

Biography

Kipketer was born in Kapchemoiywo, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, into the Kalenjin tribe.

As a teenager, he was first noticed by 1968
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...

 and 1972
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

 Olympic champion Kip Keino. Keino suggested Kipketer attend the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 St. Patrick's High School in Iten
Iten
Iten is a town in Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is located along the road between Eldoret and Kabarnet. Elgeyo escarpment and Kerio River are located east of Iten. The town has a population of 4000 ....

 that was famous for bringing up young runners. David Rudisha, who surpassed Kipketer's 800m world record in 2010 attended the same school.

In 1990, Kipketer travelled to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 as a foreign exchange student
Student exchange program
A student exchange program generally could be defined as a program where students from secondary school or university choose to study abroad in partner institutions...

, studying electronic engineering
Electronic engineering
Electronics engineering, also referred to as electronic engineering, is an engineering discipline where non-linear and active electrical components such as electron tubes, and semiconductor devices, especially transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, are utilized to design electronic...

 at the Copenhagen University. He liked Denmark so much that he applied for Danish citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...

. Kipketer came to international attention in 1994 when he won 16 of 18 800 meter races, ran the second fastest 800 meters of the year (1:43.29) and was ranked number one in the world by Track and Field News magazine. The next year, he won 10 of 12 races, ran under 1:43 twice (becoming only the second man to break 1:43 twice in one season, after Joaquim Cruz
Joaquim Cruz
Joaquim Carvalho Cruz is a former Brazilian athlete, winner of the 800 m at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He is one of only four men to run the 800 m in less than 1:42....

 who did it in 1984 & 1985) with his 1:42.87 being the world leader, and he competed for Denmark in the 1995 World Championships
1995 World Championships in Athletics
The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....

. It was there that he claimed his first World Championship
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...

 title in the 800 metres, pulling away from his competitors in dominating fashion down the homestretch.

However, Kipketer was not a full Danish citizen, and in 1996 the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

 disallowed him from competing for Denmark in the Olympic Games
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 in Atlanta, USA
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. Despite his absence from the Olympics, there was no doubt that Kipketer was the strongest 800 m runner in the world that year. He remained undefeated throughout 1996, including wins over all three 800 meter medalists at the 1996 Olympic Games, and set a new personal best of 1:41.83 in Rieti
Rieti
Rieti is a city and comune in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of c. 47,700. It is the capital of province of Rieti.The town centre rests on a small hilltop, commanding a wide plain at the southern edge of an ancient lake. The area is now the fertile basin of the Velino River...

 at the end of the season, the fastest 800 meter time in the world in 12 years and only 0.1 short of the World Record. Despite not participating in the Olympics, Track & Field News magazine ranked him number one in the world in the 800 meters for 1996.

In 1997 Kipketer was at the peak of his career. In March he won the 800 m gold at the Indoor World Championships
1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from March 7 to March 9, 1997. It was the first athletic championships to introduce women's pole vault...

 in Paris, France. In fact, he broke the indoor world record time in the heats by nearly a second, beating Paul Ereng's WR 1:44.84 with his 1:43.96. Then in the final he took yet another second off the world record with a scintillating 1:42.67. On 7 July he tied Sebastian Coe's world record (1:41.73) for the 800 metres at a meeting in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. Coe's record had stood for sixteen years. He went on to break the record twice that year, the first time being in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 at the Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich
Weltklasse Zürich is an annual track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League. One of the first large-scale international athletics events , it is sometimes referred to as the one day...

 GP on 13 August when he ran 1:41.24. (His was one of three world records to fall in a 70 minute stretch at this remarkable meet, the other two being the 5,000 meter record to Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon...

 and the 3,000 meter steeplechase to Wilson Boit Kipketer
Wilson Boit Kipketer
Wilson Boit Kipketer is a middle and long distance athlete most widely known for running the 3000 m steeplechase. On August 13, 1997, at the Weltklasse Zürich, he set the world record in the steeplechase at 7:59.08, the third of three world records set in a 70 minute period of time...

. To the latter, he is not related.) Eleven days later, on 24 August, he improved the world record to 1:41.11 at the Grand Prix meet in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-nktw7gZgU. On 8 August, in the 1997 World Championships in Athletics
1997 World Championships in Athletics
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations...

 at the Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (Athens)
The Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" , is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spiros Louis.-History:...

, Athens, Greece, he led the race from start to finish, blazing the first 200 meters in 23.47 seconds, and successfully defended the World Championship title he had won in 1995. He was voted Track & Field Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News Magazine.

The following season, Kipketer contracted malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

 and at first intended not to race at all. Eventually, he participated in three meets, winning in Monaco and running a swift 1:43.18 in Zurich. At the European Championships in Budapest but made physical contact with the eventual winner Nils Schumann
Nils Schumann
Nils Schumann is a former German athlete, winner of the 800 m at the 2000 Summer Olympics, who retired in 2009...

 on the final straight and did not win a medal. He came back in 1999 by finishing second at the Indoor World Championships
1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, president of the IAAF, characterized the...

 and bettering that with a gold medal at the 1999 World Championship
1999 World Championships in Athletics
The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....

 in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. As in 1997, Kipketer was undefeated in 1999, winning all 10 outdoor races and finishing the year ranked number one in the world in the 800m by Track & Field News magazine.

In 2000, he broke the world indoor record in the 1000 metres by running a 2:14.96. However, he raced sparingly outdoors and didn't show the same form he had in previous years, losing three out of the four races he contested. At the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 in Sydney, Australia, Kipketer took silver
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

, finishing 0.06 behind Nils Schumann
Nils Schumann
Nils Schumann is a former German athlete, winner of the 800 m at the 2000 Summer Olympics, who retired in 2009...

 in a tactical, closely contested 800 metres race
Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Men's 800 metres
The Men's 800 metres event at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics programme was held at Stadium Australia on Saturday 23 September, Monday 25 September, and Wednesday 27 September 2000....

.

In 2002, Kipketer won the gold medal at the European Championships in Munich, defeating the reigning world champion, Andre Bucher
André Bucher
André Bucher is a retired Swiss 800 metres runner. He is best known for winning the gold medal at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton in his event. Bucher also won the indoor bronze that same year....

 and 2000 Olympic champion, Nils Schumann. He also won 8 of the 9 races he contested, had the fastest 800 metre time in the world (1:42.32), and ranked number one in the world for 800 metres for a record sixth time (one more than Mal Whitfield
Mal Whitfield
Malvin "Mal" Greston Whitfield is a former American athlete, a double winner of 800 m at the Olympic Games...

).

Despite fighting injuries
Sports injuries
Sports injuries are injuries that occur in athletic activities. In many cases, these types of injuries are often due to overuse or acute trauma of a part of the body when participating in a certain activity. For example, runner's knee is a painful condition generally associated with running, while...

, Kipketer continued to compete through the 2003 season gaining a silver medal at the Indoor World Championships
2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK from 14 March to 16 March 2003. It was the first time the Championships had been held in the UK...

 at the National Indoor Arena
National Indoor Arena
The National Indoor Arena is a large indoor arena and is owned by the NEC Group. It is situated in central Birmingham, England and was opened in 1991, as the largest indoor arena at the time in the UK...

, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 but only managing fourth place at the World Championships
2003 World Championships in Athletics
The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...

 later that year.

In the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 in Athens, Greece Kipketer had the lead with 80 meters left in the 800 metres
Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's 800 metres
-Qualifying:From the initial nine heats the first two in each plus six fastest losers progressed through to the semi-finals.The final was made up of the first two finishers from each of the semi-finals plus two fastest losers.-Heats:...

 final but was passed with 20 meters left by Yuriy Borzakovskiy
Yuriy Borzakovskiy
Yuriy Mikhailovich Borzakovskiy is a Russian middle distance athlete specializing in the 800 metres.-Athletic career:Borzakovskiy's first major international success was a victory at the 2000 European Indoor Championships when he was only 18 years old. At the 2000 Summer Olympics he reached the...

 and took the bronze medal. At 33 years of age he was still running fast times (breaking 1:44 on three occasions) but no longer had the dominant finish he once possessed, winning only one of the six races he contested, and did not race again after 2004. He ended his career with a remarkable record of fast 800 meter times: except for 2001, he ran 1:43 or better every year from 1994 to 2004. His ten years of sub 1:44 800 meter times is unmatched by any other athlete.

During 11 years his coach was Sławomir Nowak (Poland).

He married his Danish girlfriend Pernille in 2000.

He announced his retirement from competitive athletics in August 2005.

Wilson Kipketer is today 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
Peace and Sport
Peace and Sport, "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport” is a neutral and apolitical international initiative based in the Principality of Monaco and placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco....

, a Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

-based international organization.

Personal bests

Date Event Venue Time
1994 400 m 46.85
24 August 1997 800 m Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

1:41.11
February 1997 800 m Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

1:42.67 (i)
20 February 2000 1000 m Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

2:14.96 (i).
1993 1500 m 3:42.80
5 July 1993 Mile Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

3:59.57

External links






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