Peter Rono
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men’s Athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Seoul 1988 | 1500 m | |
Peter Kipchumba Rono (born July 31, 1967) is a former Kenyan athlete, who won the 1,500 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Born in Kapsabet, Rono won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships in 1984 in both the 1500 m and 5000 m. He also won the gold medal at the Africa Cross Country Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1985, and in 1986 he was the silver medalist in the 1500 m at the World Junior Championships in Athens, Greece. In 1987, he was semi-finalist in the 1500 m at the World Championships in Rome, Italy.
In 1988 at the Olympic Games, Rono managed to beat closely the main favourites Peter Elliott and Steve Cram of Great Britain, thus becoming the youngest Olympic Champion at 1500 m (21 years and 62 days).
Rono never won a major race again. He earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree from Mount Saint Mary's University in Maryland, while competing, and later coaching, for the institution.
In November 2006, Rono was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador at Large by the United Nations.
| Olympic champions in men's 1500 m |
|---|
|
1896: Teddy Flack | 1900: Charles Bennett | 1904: Jim Lightbody | 1906: Jim Lightbody | 1908: Mel Sheppard | 1912: Arnold Jackson | 1920: Albert Hill | 1924: Paavo Nurmi | 1928: Harry Larva | 1932: Luigi Beccali | 1936: Jack Lovelock | 1948: Henry Eriksson | 1952: Josy Barthel | 1956: Ron Delany | 1960: Herb Elliott | 1964: Peter Snell | 1968: Kip Keino | 1972: Pekka Vasala | 1976: John Walker | 1980: Sebastian Coe | 1984: Sebastian Coe | 1988: Peter Rono | 1992: Fermín Cacho | 1996: Noureddine Morceli | 2000: Noah Ngeny | 2004: Hicham El Guerrouj |
