Alice Timbilili
Encyclopedia
Alice Jemeli Timbilil (born February 1, 1983 in Moiben
, Uasin Gishu District
) is a Kenya
n professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed over 10,000 metres at both the 2000
and 2004 Summer Olympics
.
She initially started her career on the track, becoming the World Youth Champion
in the 10,000 m and running at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics
at the age of sixteen. She won a junior silver medal
at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
and made her Olympic track debut the following year. She continued to mix track and cross country, making her second Olympic appearance at the 2004 Athens Games and securing a senior silver at the 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
.
After taking 2006 out due to the birth of her first child, she returned in 2007 and switched her focus to road running
competitions. She represented Kenya at the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships
and won the Saint Silvester Road Race. She made her marathon
debut in 2008 and took her first win in the event two years later at the 2010 Amsterdam Marathon
.
she won 3000 metres
gold medal
. She competed also at the 1999 World Championships
, but did not finish the 10,000 metres final after seemingly miscalculating the number of laps. She did not start high school until 2000, aged 17, when she joined Kapkenda Secondary School.
It was in the field of cross country running
that she gained her first major junior medal, running at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
. Timbilil took the silver medal
behind Vivian Cheruiyot
, completing a Kenyan sweep of the medals which led the junior women to the team gold. At the age of seventeen, she gained selection for the 2000 Sydney Olympics
and reached the 10,000 m final, finishing in fourteenth place with a personal best run of 31:50.22. She was still eligible for the junior competition at the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
, but she was far from medal-winning form and finished in sixteenth place.
in 2003 and the Oeiras International Cross Country
in 2004. At the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
she just missed out on the medals by finishing in fourth place behind Werknesh Kidane
, although she did lead the Kenyan women to a team silver medal in the long race. She took to the Olympic stage for a second time later that year, but she failed to build on her cross country success at the 2004 Athens Games and finished in sixteenth place in the 10,000 m Olympic final. She delivered in the long race at the 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
the following year, however, as she edged between Tirunesh Dibaba
and Werknesh to take her first major senior medal, and also leading Kenyan to a consecutive team silver behind Ethiopia. Returning to the track, she ran at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics
but did not manage to finish the race, repeating her disappointing World performance of six years earlier.
she finished in ninth place. She made her marathon debut at the 2008 Paris Marathon
and she set a time of 2:26:45 for fifth position.
Her first major race of 2010 came at the Roma Ostia Half Marathon in February, which she won in a time of 1:10:34, beating home favourite Rosaria Console
. Timbilil took part in the 2010 BIG 25 road race in Berlin
in May and took second place with 1:24:38, although this was over three and a half minutes slower than Mary Keitany who set a world record. She took on Keitany at the Portugal Half Marathon
and was second best again, although she beat the rest of the field by some twenty seconds. At the 2010 Amsterdam Marathon
, she was among the leaders from the start and by the 35 km mark she had outrun the field, eventually winning the race by a margin of two minutes with a personal best of 2:25:03. She ended the year by setting a course record at the Saint Silvester Road Race. In 2010 she not only won her first marathon, but had improved all her personal bests over 10K, 15K, 25K and the marathon.
– her aunt. Timbilil is managed by Federico Rosa and is based at the Nike camp in Kaptagat
. She comes from the same village as another female runner Vivian Cheruiyot
Half-Marathon New Delhi Half Marathon. 2009 Lisbon Half Marathon
. 2010 Roma Ostia Half Marathon
Moiben
Moiben is a settlement in Kenya's Rift Valley Province....
, Uasin Gishu District
Uasin Gishu District
Uasin Gishu District is one of the seventy-one districts of Kenya, located in the Rift Valley Province. The city of Eldoret is its capital, administrative center and commercial center....
) 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 professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed over 10,000 metres at both the 2000
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...
and 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...
.
She initially started her career on the track, becoming the World Youth Champion
IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics
The IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics is a global athletics event comprising track and field events for competitors who are 17 or younger . The event is organized by International Association of Athletics Federations . It is held biannually...
in the 10,000 m and running at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics
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....
at the age of sixteen. She won a junior silver medal
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....
at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 28th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 18-19 March 2000 in Vilamoura, Portugal.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :...
and made her Olympic track debut the following year. She continued to mix track and cross country, making her second Olympic appearance at the 2004 Athens Games and securing a senior silver at the 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 33rd IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 19-20 March 2005 in Saint-Étienne and Saint-Galmier , France.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
.
After taking 2006 out due to the birth of her first child, she returned in 2007 and switched her focus to road running
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
competitions. She represented Kenya at the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships
2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships
The 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Udine, Italy on 14 October 2007.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:...
and won the Saint Silvester Road Race. She made her marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
debut in 2008 and took her first win in the event two years later at the 2010 Amsterdam Marathon
Amsterdam Marathon
The Amsterdam Marathon is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195km held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands since 1975. It is one of the top ten marathons in the world.-History:...
.
World youth champion
Timbilil started running while at Kemeliet Primary school. She won Kenyan Championships in 10,000 metres in 1999, aged only 16. At the 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics
The 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the first edition of the World Youth Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 16 to July 18, 1999.-Boys:-Girls:-Medals table:...
she won 3000 metres
3000 metres
The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...
gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
. She competed also at the 1999 World Championships
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....
, but did not finish the 10,000 metres final after seemingly miscalculating the number of laps. She did not start high school until 2000, aged 17, when she joined Kapkenda Secondary School.
It was in the field of cross country running
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
that she gained her first major junior medal, running at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 28th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 18-19 March 2000 in Vilamoura, Portugal.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :...
. Timbilil took the silver medal
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....
behind Vivian Cheruiyot
Vivian Cheruiyot
Vivian Cheruiyot is an athlete from Kenya who specialises in long distance running. She represented Kenya at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics...
, completing a Kenyan sweep of the medals which led the junior women to the team gold. At the age of seventeen, she gained selection for the 2000 Sydney Olympics
Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, 46 events in athletics were contested, 24 for men and 22 for women. There were a total number of 2134 participating athletes from 193 countries.-Men's events:...
and reached the 10,000 m final, finishing in fourteenth place with a personal best run of 31:50.22. She was still eligible for the junior competition at the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 29th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 24–25 March 2001 in Ostend, Belgium.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
, but she was far from medal-winning form and finished in sixteenth place.
World cross country medallist
She took a cross country circuit wins at the Cinque MuliniCinque Mulini
The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills, which lend the competition its name – meaning Five Mills in Italian. It is one of the IAAF cross country permit...
in 2003 and the Oeiras International Cross Country
Oeiras International Cross Country
The Oeiras International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Oeiras, Portugal...
in 2004. At the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 32nd IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 19-20 March 2004 in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
she just missed out on the medals by finishing in fourth place behind Werknesh Kidane
Werknesh Kidane
Werknesh Kidane , is an Ethiopian long distance running athlete who competes in both 5000 and 10,000 metres. She has won numerous medals at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and represented Ethiopia at the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2004...
, although she did lead the Kenyan women to a team silver medal in the long race. She took to the Olympic stage for a second time later that year, but she failed to build on her cross country success at the 2004 Athens Games and finished in sixteenth place in the 10,000 m Olympic final. She delivered in the long race at the 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 33rd IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 19-20 March 2005 in Saint-Étienne and Saint-Galmier , France.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
the following year, however, as she edged between Tirunesh Dibaba
Tirunesh Dibaba
Tirunesh Dibaba also known as Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene is an Ethiopian long distance track athlete and the outdoor 5000 metres world record holder. She is the current Olympic 5000 metres and 10,000 metres champion...
and Werknesh to take her first major senior medal, and also leading Kenyan to a consecutive team silver behind Ethiopia. Returning to the track, she ran at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
but did not manage to finish the race, repeating her disappointing World performance of six years earlier.
Focus on road running
Timbilil won the Saint Silvester Road Race in 2007, running 15 km in 53:07. At the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships
The 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Udine, Italy on 14 October 2007.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:...
she finished in ninth place. She made her marathon debut at the 2008 Paris Marathon
Paris Marathon
The Paris International Marathon is an annual marathon which takes place from the Champs-Élysées heading towards the Place de la Concorde and continuing through the city to finish at Foch Avenue....
and she set a time of 2:26:45 for fifth position.
Her first major race of 2010 came at the Roma Ostia Half Marathon in February, which she won in a time of 1:10:34, beating home favourite Rosaria Console
Rosaria Console
Rosaria Console is an Italian long-distance runner who specializes in the half marathon and marathon.She suffered a tibia problem in early 2011 but still managed to take fifth place at the Rome City Marathon in March....
. Timbilil took part in the 2010 BIG 25 road race in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in May and took second place with 1:24:38, although this was over three and a half minutes slower than Mary Keitany who set a world record. She took on Keitany at the Portugal Half Marathon
Portugal Half Marathon
Portugal Half Marathon is an annual half marathon contested every September in Lisbon, Portugal.A new, faster course was established for the race in 2010 and 25 km record holder Mary Keitany duly responded by setting a women's course record of 1:08:46...
and was second best again, although she beat the rest of the field by some twenty seconds. At the 2010 Amsterdam Marathon
Amsterdam Marathon
The Amsterdam Marathon is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195km held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands since 1975. It is one of the top ten marathons in the world.-History:...
, she was among the leaders from the start and by the 35 km mark she had outrun the field, eventually winning the race by a margin of two minutes with a personal best of 2:25:03. She ended the year by setting a course record at the Saint Silvester Road Race. In 2010 she not only won her first marathon, but had improved all her personal bests over 10K, 15K, 25K and the marathon.
Personal life
She is married to Mark Sinyei (a farmer) and she gave birth to their first son, Collins Kimutai, in March 2006. She comes from an athletic family which includes runner and African Champion Nancy LagatNancy Lagat
Nancy Jebet Langat is a Kenyan middle distance runner who specialises in the 1500 metres. She won the 1500 metre final at the 2008 Summer Olympics, in a personal best time of 4:00.23....
– her aunt. Timbilil is managed by Federico Rosa and is based at the Nike camp in Kaptagat
Kaptagat
Kaptagat is a village near 40 kilometres east of Eldoret along the B54 Road in the Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It is located near the edge of the Great Rift Valley just to the southeast of the village of Chepkorio.. Administratively, it is a location in Ainabkoi division of Uasin Gishu District....
. She comes from the same village as another female runner Vivian Cheruiyot
Vivian Cheruiyot
Vivian Cheruiyot is an athlete from Kenya who specialises in long distance running. She represented Kenya at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics...
Achievements
5 km Cross Country in Grand Prix Media Blenio Philadelphia Half Marathon SaltilloSaltillo
Saltillo is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located about 400 km south of the U.S. state of Texas, and 90 km west of Monterrey, Nuevo León....
Half-Marathon New Delhi Half Marathon. 2009 Lisbon Half Marathon
Lisbon Half Marathon
First held in 1991, the race has consistently delivered fast winning times. However, many of these times have been unratifiable for record purposes due to factors including: the course being too short , excessive tailwinds, as well as there being an excessive drop in altitude, which boosted...
. 2010 Roma Ostia Half Marathon