Paul Kipsiele Koech
Encyclopedia
Paul Kipsiele Koech is a Kenya
n runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He won the 2004 Olympic
bronze medal
in this event.
He was born in 1981 in Cheplanget, near Sotik town, Buret District
. He graduated from Cheplanget Secondary School in 1999. He did well at the National Cross Country Championships and was subsequently invited to compete in Europe and joined a team managed by James Templeton.
Despite being among the fastest steeplechasers, he has failed several times at the Kenyan trials for World championships or Olympics. He competed at the all seven IAAF World Athletics Final
meetings, finishing every time in the top three, being the only athlete to achieve it.
He has had success in cross country running
, with wins at the Cinque Mulini
(2006) and the Iris Lotto Cross Cup (2007) to his name. He holds the steeplechase meet record for the Prefontaine Classic
, Adidas Grand Prix, and DN Galan
.
He has built a primary school near his home. He also trains some younger runners, including World junior champion Mercy Cherono
. Koech is married and has a daughter born in 2004 and a younger son.
In February 2010 he set a world best of 5:17.04 in the rarely competed 2000 m indoor steeplechase. He won twice in the 2010 Diamond League and finished with enough points to become the inaugural steeplechase Diamond Trophy winner. He improved his indoor 2000 m steeplechase record to 5:13.77 at the Indoor Flanders Meeting
in February 2011.
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 runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He won the 2004 Olympic
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...
bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
in this event.
He was born in 1981 in Cheplanget, near Sotik town, Buret District
Buret District
Buret District is an administrative district in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Litein. The district has a population of 316,882 and an area of 955 km² . The district has two electoral constituencies: Konoin Constituency and Bureti Constituency ....
. He graduated from Cheplanget Secondary School in 1999. He did well at the National Cross Country Championships and was subsequently invited to compete in Europe and joined a team managed by James Templeton.
Despite being among the fastest steeplechasers, he has failed several times at the Kenyan trials for World championships or Olympics. He competed at the all seven IAAF World Athletics Final
IAAF World Athletics Final
The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the IAAF World Athletics Series and was the culmination of the...
meetings, finishing every time in the top three, being the only athlete to achieve it.
He has had success in 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...
, with wins at the Cinque Mulini
Cinque 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...
(2006) and the Iris Lotto Cross Cup (2007) to his name. He holds the steeplechase meet record for the Prefontaine Classic
Prefontaine Classic
The Prefontaine Classic is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.-History:...
, Adidas Grand Prix, and DN Galan
DN Galan
-External links:**...
.
He has built a primary school near his home. He also trains some younger runners, including World junior champion Mercy Cherono
Mercy Cherono
Mercy Cherono is a Kenyan middle distance runner. She is a two-time world junior champion in the 3000 metres and has also won gold medals at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics and 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games...
. Koech is married and has a daughter born in 2004 and a younger son.
In February 2010 he set a world best of 5:17.04 in the rarely competed 2000 m indoor steeplechase. He won twice in the 2010 Diamond League and finished with enough points to become the inaugural steeplechase Diamond Trophy winner. He improved his indoor 2000 m steeplechase record to 5:13.77 at the Indoor Flanders Meeting
Indoor Flanders Meeting
The Indoor Flanders meeting is an annual indoor track and field meeting which takes place at the Flanders Sports Arena arena in Ghent, Belgium. It is one of foremost meetings on the indoor European circuit and is one of nine events which hold IAAF Indoor Permit Meeting status.First held in 1990,...
in February 2011.
Achievements
| 2003 | All-Africa Games Athletics at the 2003 All-Africa Games -Track:-Field:-Track:-Field:-Medal table:-External links:*... |
Abuja Abuja Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos... , Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... |
2nd | |
| World Athletics Final 2003 IAAF World Athletics Final The 1st IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on 13 September and 14 September 2003.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary a week previous as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.One of the... |
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco.... , 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... |
2nd | ||
| 2004 | Olympic Games Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put... |
Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
3rd | 3000 m steeple |
| World Athletics Final 2004 IAAF World Athletics Final The 2nd IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on September 18, and September 19, 2004.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary a week previous as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.One of... |
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco.... , 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... |
3rd | ||
| 2005 | World Championships 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... |
Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... , Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
7th | 3000 m steeple |
| World Athletics Final 2005 IAAF World Athletics Final The 3rd IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on September 9, and September 10, 2005.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary on September 3 as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.- Medal... |
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco.... , 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... |
1st | ||
| 2006 | African Championships 2006 African Championships in Athletics The 15th African Championships in Athletics were held in Mauritius between August 9 and August 13, 2006. The event was staged at Stade Germain Comarmond in Bambous, Black River district... |
Bambous, Mauritius Mauritius Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar... |
1st | |
| World Athletics Final 2006 IAAF World Athletics Final The 4th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 9 and September 10, 2006.-Results:-External links:*... |
Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... , 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... |
1st | ||
| IAAF World Cup 2006 IAAF World Cup The 10th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event, held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, which took place on 16 and 17 September 2006 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.... |
Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
2nd | ||
| 2007 | World Athletics Final 2007 IAAF World Athletics Final The 5th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 22 and September 23, 2007.-Men:- Women :-External links:*... |
Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... , 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... |
1st | |
| 2008 | World Indoor Championships 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7-9, 2008.-Bid:Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.-Men:... |
Valencia, 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... |
2nd | 3000 m |
| World Athletics Final 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final The 6th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart, Germany on September 13 and September 14, 2008.A number of road races also took place on the second day of competition. There were seven different starting points around the Stuttgart area and the distances varied... |
Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... , 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... |
1st | ||
| 2009 | World Championships 2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate.... |
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... , 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... |
4th | 3000 m steeple 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase The Men's 3.000 metres Steeplechase at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 16 and August 18... |
| World Athletics Final 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics meetings which began on September 20, 2008 at the... |
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
2nd | 3000 m s'chase | |
| 2010 | Diamond League 2010 IAAF Diamond League The 2010 IAAF Diamond League was the first edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 14 May in Doha, Qatar and ended on 27 August in Brussels, Belgium.... |
Diamond trophy winner | 1st | 3000 m s'chase |
Personal bests
- 1500 metres1500 metresThe 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...
– 3:37.92 (2007) - 3000 metres3000 metresThe 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...
– 7:33.93 (2005) - Two miles – 8:13.31 (2008)
- 5000 metres5000 metresThe 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...
– 13:05.18 (2010) - 3000 metres steeplechase – 7:56.37 (2005)