Samuel Wanjiru
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Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (born November 10, 1986) is a Kenyan long distance runner.
At the age of only 18 Wanjiru broke the half marathon world record on September 11 2005 in Rotterdam Half Marathon with a time of 59:16 minutes, officially beating Paul Tergat's half-marathon record of 59:17 minutes. This was preceded two weeks earlier by a bettering of the 10,000 meter World Junior Record by a whopping margin of almost 23 seconds in the IAAF Golden League Van Damme Memorial Race on August 26th. His WJR time of 26:41.75 was good enough for third place in the race behind Boniface Kiprop's 26:39.77 and Kenenisa Bekele's World Record of 26:17.53.
His half-marathon record was broken by Ethiopian track and road running legend Haile Gebrselassie on January 15, 2006 at Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon. Wanjiru took back the half marathon world record with 58:53 minutes on February 9, 2007 in Ras al Khaimah[1]and improved it to 58:33 on March 17, 2007 in The Hague, The Netherlands. While improving his own record, he also broke Haile Gebrselassie's 20 km world record with a time of 55:31, a 17 second improvement.
Wanjiru made his marathon debut at Fukuoka Marathon on December 2, 2007, winning it impressively with a course record of 2:06:39.[2]In the 2008 London Marathon he came in second, breaking 2:06 for the first time.
Wanjiru was awarded the 2005 Kenyan Most Promising Sportsman of the Year award.[3]
He has a 5,000 meter best of 13.12.40, run as an 17 year old in April of 2004 in Hiroshima, Japan.
Wanjiru is from Nyahururu. He started running at the age of 15. In 2002 he moved to Japan and went to Sendai Ikue High school in Sendai. His cousin Joseph Riri is a world-class marathon runner,[4]whereas Samuel's younger brother Simon Njoroge is a long distance runner too. He was mentored by Stephen Ndungu, a marathoner and a pace maker.
[edit] External links
IAAF profile for Samuel Kamau WanjiruHis true story-www.peaksportsmanagement.co.uk
[edit] References
- ^ 58:53 Half Marathon World Record by Wanjiru in Ras al Khaimah, IAAF, February 9, 2007
- ^ IAAF: December 2, 2007: 2:06:39 debut victory for Wanjiru in Fukuoka
- ^ Athletes dominate Kenyan Sports Awards, IAAF, March 2, 2006
- ^ IAAF, December 16,2007: Wanjiru, Kenya’s next marathon great?
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Paul Tergat |
Men's Half Marathon World Record Holder 2005-09-11 – 2006-01-15 |
Succeeded by Haile Gebrselassie |
| Preceded by Haile Gebrselassie |
Men's Half Marathon World Record Holder February 9, 2007 – |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by Robert Cheruiyot |
Rotterdam Men's Half Marathon Winner 2005 |
Succeeded by Zersenay Tadesse |
| Preceded by Haile Gebrselassie |
Men's Half Marathon Best Year Performance 2007 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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