Nationality Kenyan Name Dennis Kimetto Weight 58 kg (128 lb) Height 1.71 m | Country Kenya Events Long-distance running Sport Athletics | |
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Born 22 January 1984 (age 40) ( 1984-01-22 ) Profiles | ||
Berlin marathon 2014 world record 02 02 57 by dennis kimetto
Dennis Kipruto Kimetto or Dennis Kipruto Koech (born 22 January 1984) is a Kenyan long distance runner who competes in road running events. He is the world record holder at the marathon and the 25 km road distance.
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Career
Hailing from Eldoret and part of a training group including Geoffrey Mutai, Kimetto's first major win came in the half marathon section of the Nairobi Marathon in 2011. Running as Dennis Koech, he topped the podium in a time of 1:01:30. He quickly rose into the global running elite in his first outings outside of Kenya. At the RAK Half Marathon he defeated a field including Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich to win the race in 60:40 minutes. His age was misreported as ten years younger, and his following run of 59:14 minutes to win the Berlin Half Marathon in April was briefly considered a world junior best. An erroneous passport was the cause of both the age difference and the Koech misnomer, his surname actually being Kimetto. This was rectified in later competitions.
With Kimetto's personal data corrected, he went on to break his first major record at the BIG 25 Berlin. His time of 71:18 minutes at that race knocked a sizeable margin off Sammy Kosgei's world record of 71:50. After this he made the fastest marathon debut in history. Again running in Berlin, he ran alongside training partner Geoffrey Mutai for much of the 2012 Berlin Marathon. He recorded a time of 2:04:16, one second behind Mutai, to set the fifth fastest ever run at that point. Some reporters observed that Kimetto stayed solidly behind the more prominent Mutai in the final section of the race and concluded that he allowed his partner to take the victory.
Without his teammate present, Kimetto won the 2013 Tokyo Marathon with a new course record time of 2:06:50. On 13 October 2013 he won the Chicago Marathon in a course-record time of 2:03:45. On 28 September 2014, Kimetto broke the world record at the Berlin Marathon with 2:02:57 and became the first man to run under 2:03. His 5k splits were recorded as: 14:42, 14:42, 14:46, 14:26, 14:32, 14:30, 14:09, 14:42.
His 2015 season wasn't as impressive as he only completed the London Marathon, finishing third, failing to complete the IAAF Marathon World Championships in Beijing in August as well as the Fukuoka Marathon in December where he stopped at the 5k mark after dropping off the pace at 2k due to an injury. After finishing ninth at the 2016 London Marathon, Kimetto removed himself from consideration for the 2016 Rio Olympics, opting instead to run in the Chicago Marathon.
Kimetto grew up in a rural farming community. "I think what really motivates me to be a fighter is the fact that I come from a humble background," Kimetto says. "I try to really make sure that I achieve my best so that I can assist my family."