Wilson Kipketer

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Olympic medal record
Men’s Athletics
Silver	2000 Sydney	800m
Bronze	2004 Athens	800m

Wilson Kipketer (born December 12, 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. He holds the current world records at both indoor and outdoor 800 and the indoor 1000 metre distances. While dominating the 800 m distance for a decade, remaining undefeated for a three-year period and running 8 of the 11 currently all-time fastest times, he never won an Olympic gold medal.

[edit] Biography

Kipketer was born in Kapchemoyiwo, Kenya, into the Kalenjin tribe.

As a teenager, he was first noticed by 1968 and 1972 Olympic champion Kip Keino. Keino suggested Kipketer attend the catholic St. Patrick's High School in Iten that was famous for bringing up young runners.

In 1990, Kipketer travelled to Denmark as a foreign exchange student, studying electronic engineering at the Copenhagen University. He liked Denmark so much that he applied for Danish citizenship. Kipketer competed for Denmark in the 1995 World Championships. It was there that he claimed his first World Championship title in the 800 metres.

However, Kipketer was not a full citizen, and in 1996 the International Olympic Committee disallowed him from competing for Denmark in the Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA. 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 and came close to breaking the world record several times, setting a new personal best of 1:41.83 in Rieti at the end of the season.

In 1997 Kipketer was at the peak of his career. He tied Sebastian Coe's world record (1:41.73) for the 800 metres at a meeting in Stockholm. Coe's record had stood for sixteen years. He went on to break the record twice that year. At first, in Zurich in 1:41.24, the second time running 1:41.11 in Cologne. The same year saw him winning 800 m gold at the Indoor World Championships in Paris, France with an indoor world record time of 1:42.67 and the 1997 World Championships in Athletics at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece when he led the race from start to finish.

The following season, Kipketer contracted malaria and at first intended not to race at all. Eventually, he participated in the European Championships in Budapest but made physical contact with the eventual winner Nils Schumann on the final straight and did not win a medal. He came back in 1999 by finishing second at the Indoor World Championships and bettering that with a gold medal at the World Championship. Then in 2000, he broke the world indoor record in the 1000 metres by running a 2:14.96. In the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Kipketer took silver in the 800 metres. In 2002, Kipketer won the gold medal at the European Championships in Munich, defeating the reigning world champion, Andre Bucher and Olympic champion, Nils Schumann.

Despite fighting injuries, Kipketer continued to compete through the 2003 season gaining a silver medal at the Indoor World Championships at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England but only managing fourth place at the World Championships later that year. In the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece Kipketer took a bronze medal in the 800 metres.

He married his Danish girlfriend Pernille in 2000.

He announced his retirement from competitive athletics in August 2005.

[edit] Personal bests

Date	Event	Venue	Time
1994	400 m		46.85
August 24, 1997	800 m	Cologne, Germany	1:41.11
August 23, 1995	1000 m	Copenhagen, Denmark	2:16.29
1993	1500 m		3:42.80
July 5, 1993	Mile	Stockholm, Sweden	3:59.57