Hellen Chepngeno

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Hellen Chepngeno (born August 2, 1967 in Kitopen, Bomet District) is a retired athlete from Kenya. In 1994 she became the first Kenyan woman to win individual category in the the World Cross Country Championships.

Later she suffered from injuries and was not able to repeat her earlier success [1]. She was still competing in 1999 [2].

During her running career, she was a corporal in the Kenya Prisons, which is famous for recruiting promising Kenyan athletes. Before starting running, she took High jump and javelin throw [3].

She keeps a five acre plot in Kitopen bought with her prize money. She is not married, but has two sons [1], one of them was four years old in 1994 [4].

[edit] Achievements

Year Tournament Venue Result Extra
1992 World Cross Country Championships Boston, United States 15th Long race
World Cross Country Championships Boston, United States 1st Team
1993 African Championships Durban, South Africa 3rd 3000 m
1994 World Cross Country Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st Long race

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b IAAF, March 20, 2007: A Kenyan XC legend - Helen Chepngeno
  2. ^ Daily Nation January 31, 1999: Koech wins Armed Forces title again
  3. ^ Daily Nation, February 05, 2007: Chepngeno, Kenya’s unsung athletics heroine [1]
  4. ^ International Herald Tribune, March 28, 1994: Shooting for the Moon, Kenyans Win All but 1 Cross Country Gold
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Flag of Portugal Albertina Dias
IAAF Women's World Cross Country Champion
1994
Succeeded by
Flag of Ethiopia Derartu Tulu