Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot

Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot

Personal information
Date of birth	9 February 1978 (1978-26-09) (age 30)
Place of birth	Kapsabet, Kenya, UK
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	70 kg (150 lb; 11 st)
Sport
Country
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	10,000 metres: 27:48 Half Marathon: 1:01:28 Marathon: 2:07:14

Robert "Mwafrika" Kipkoech Cheruiyot (born September 26, 1978 in Kapsabet, Kenya), sometimes known as Omar Ahmed ^[1], is a Kenyan marathon runner and is the current record holder and four-time winner of the Boston Marathon.

Early career

Cheruiyot trained running while at school, but was unable to pay school fees and became a high school drop out. He ended up working at a barber shop in Mosoriot, but could hardly buy a meal with his low salary. Later he managed to access Moses Tanui's training camp in Kaptagat. Soon thereafter he made a breakthrough by winning a local 10K race in 2001 and headed for international competitions.^[2]

Cheruiyot won the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon in March 2002. His marathon debut, Milan Marathon in December 2002 saw three top finishers - Cheruiyot, Mike Rotich and Daniele Caimmi all posting the same time, 2:08:59 hours, but Cheruiyot emerged the winner.^[3] Cheruiyot also won the Saint Silvester Road Race at the end of 2002.^[4]

Major marathons

Robert Cheruiyot in 2008 Boston Marathon at Kilometer 40th

He won the Boston Marathon in 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2008. His 2006 Boston finishing time of 2:07:14 broke a Boston marathon course record set by Cosmas Ndeti that had lasted 12 years.

He finished 4th in the 2005 New York Marathon and 2nd in the 2009 New York Marathon. He sought to win another title in Boston in 2005 as well but only finished 5th that year.

During his win at Chicago in 2006, Cheruiyot did not actually break the tape at the finish line. He slipped at the end and crossed the finish line as he slipped forward making him the winner. It was ruled that he did cross the finish line in doing so. He injured his head against the ground in the fall and had to be helped from the course in a wheelchair. He suffered a brain contusion and was released from the hospital after two days of observation. His time of 2:07:35 was five seconds faster than 2nd place finisher Daniel Njenga. The win in Chicago leaves him at the top of the 2006 World marathon standings and poised to win its grand prize.[1] ^[5][6][7][8]

In 2007 Cheruiyot defended his title and won his third Boston Marathon with an official time of 2:14:13. Fellow Kenyans were second and third. It was the 15th time in the last 17 years that a Kenyan has won the Boston marathon but it was also the slowest Boston Marathon since 1977 as runners faced cold headwinds gusting up to 50 miles per hour. Cheruiyot also won US$ 100,000 for the victory. With four victories in the World Marathon Majors series, his lead in that series is significant.^[9][10][11]

His personal best is currently his 2006 Boston Marathon performance. On April 21 2008, he won his fourth Boston Marathon title with a time of 2:07:43, making him the first four-time winner in the men's open division since Bill Rodgers (fellow Kenyan Catherine Ndereba recorded her fourth win in 2005).

He is not to be confused with Robert Kiprotich Cheruiyot^[12] or Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot,^[13] who are both also Kenyan marathon runners.

See also

• List of winners of the Boston Marathon

References

• IAAF profile for Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot
• Rosa & Associati profile

Sporting positions
Preceded by Rodgers Rop	Boston Men's Marathon Winner 2003	Succeeded by Timothy Cherigat
Preceded by Hailu Negussie	Boston Men's Marathon Winner 2006 – 2008	Succeeded by Deriba Merga
Preceded by Incumbent	Rotterdam Men's Half Marathon Winner 2004	Succeeded by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru
Preceded by Felix Limo	Chicago Men's Marathon Winner 2006	Succeeded by Patrick Ivuti