James Kwambai

James Kipsang Kwambai at the 2008 Berlin Marathon

James Kipsang Kwambai (born February 28, 1983) is a runner from Kenya, who specialises in marathons. He is a former Kenyan record holder in the event, with his personal best of 2:04:27 hours in 2009. At the time this made him the second fastest runner ever, behind Haile Gebrselassie.[1]

Biography

Kwambai went to the Kondabilet Primary School in Marakwet East District, but dropped out at standard seven.[2]

He won the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale in 2002, breaking the course record by over a minute.[3] In 2006 Kwambai won the Brescia Marathon and Beijing Marathon, which were his first two marathons.[4] He also won the 2008 and the 2009 Saint Silvester Road Race.

He finished second at the 2008 Berlin Marathon, where Haile Gebrselassie set a new marathon world record. Kwambai's time was 2:05:36, that made him the seventh fastest ever marathon runner at the time.[5] At the 2009 Rotterdam Marathon Kwambai again finished second (behind Duncan Kibet) in a time of 2:04:27, the third fastest ever marathon at the time.[6] At the 2010 New York City Marathon he completed the race in 2:11:31, which brought him fifth place.[7] He returned to defend his title at the Saint Silvester race in São Paulo but ended up in third place behind Marílson dos Santos and Barnabas Kosgei.[8]

His first race of 2011 was the CPC Loop Den Haag, but he was off the winning pace and came sixth in a time of one hour and one second.[9] He was among the leaders at the 2011 London Marathon by the 30 km mark, but dropped out of the race.[10] In August he came second at the Rio de Janeiro Half Marathon, but was eighth at the Udine Half Marathon the following month, finishing well off his best in 1:02:06 hours. His season peaked in November when he took the title at the JoongAng Seoul Marathon in a time of 2:08:50 hours, despite rainy conditions.[11] He took on the city's other major race, the Seoul International Marathon, in March 2012 and ran his best race in three years, finishing in 2:06:03 hours to take second behind Wilson Loyanae.[12] In November he competed at the 2012 JoongAng Seoul Marathon, won it convincingly and broke the course record by 2:23 minutes, with a time of 2:05:50 hours.[13]

He was among the fastest entrants at the 2013 Tokyo Marathon, but came fifth a minute and a half behind winner Dennis Kimetto.[14] He was back in form in Seoul in November as he won in 2:06:25 hours for third straight victory at the race (the first person ever to do so).[15] He ran at the city's other major race, the Seoul International Marathon, in March 2014 but his time of 2:07:38 was only enough for sixth place in a quick race.[16]

Kwambai prefers road running over track and cross-country. His training partners include Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Martin Lel, Sammy Korir and Fred Kiprop in Eldoret and Italy. Kwambai has been coached by Gabriele Rosa and Claudio Berardelli.[17][18]

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
2003 San Blas Half Marathon Coamo, Puerto Rico 2nd 1:03:29
Berlin Half Marathon Berlin, Germany 3rd 1:01:56
2004 Eldoret Half Marathon Eldoret 3rd 1:01:43
San Blas Half Marathon Coamo, Puerto Rico 2nd 1:03:18
Udine Half Marathon Udine, Italy 1st 1:00:22
2005 Bogota Half Marathon Bogotá, Colombia 1st 1:03:10
Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Virginia Beach, VA 2nd 1:01:05
Rome-Ostia Half Marathon Rome, Italy 1st 1:00:45
2006 Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Virginia Beach, VA 1st 1:00:57
Bogota Half Marathon Bogotá, Colombia 2nd 1:03:05
Brescia Marathon Brescia, Italy 1st 2:10:20
Beijing Marathon Beijing, China 1st 2:10:36
2007 New York City Half Marathon New York City 4th 1:01:03
New York City Marathon New York City 5th 2:10:54
2008 Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Virginia Beach, VA 1st 1:01:05
Rome-Ostia Half Marathon Rome, Italy 2nd 1:00:22
Berlin Marathon Berlin, Germany 2nd 2:05:36
2009 Rotterdam Half Marathon Rotterdam, Netherlands 3rd 59:09
Rotterdam Marathon Rotterdam, Netherlands 2nd 2:04:27
2010 New York City Marathon New York City 5th 2:11:31
2011 CPC Loop Den Haag The Hague, Netherlands 6th 1:00:01
JoongAng Seoul Marathon Seoul, South Korea 1st 2:08:50
2012 Seoul International Marathon Seoul, South Korea 2nd 2:06:03
JoongAng Seoul Marathon Seoul, South Korea 1st 2:05:50
2013 JoongAng Seoul Marathon Seoul, South Korea 1st 2:06:25

References

  1. ↑ Kwambai secures hat-trick in Seoul. IAAF (2013-11-03). Retrieved on 2013-11-03.
  2. ↑ Daily Nation, October 26, 2009: Nearly man Kwambai is back
  3. ↑ Historique Il était une fois … (French). Marseille-Cassis. Retrieved on 2009-10-22.
  4. ↑ IAAF website, February 28, 2008: Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot aiming at fourth consecutive Boston marathon title
  5. ↑ Wenig, Jorg (2008-09-28). Haile breaks 2:04 barrier, Mikitenko under 2:20 in Berlin - UPDATED. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-01.
  6. ↑ "Kibet edges Kwambai as both clock 2:04:27 - Rotterdam Marathon". IAAF. 5 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  7. ↑ Dunaway, James (2010-11-07). Gebremariam and Kiplagat cruise to New York victories. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-07.
  8. ↑ Biscayart, Eduardo (2011-01-01). Dos Santos and Timbilil cruise to Sao Paulo wins. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-01.
  9. ↑ van Hemert, Wim (2011-03-14). Desisa and Chepcirchir take fast Half Marathon wins in The Hague. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-07.
  10. ↑ Brown, Matthew (2011-04-17). Mutai and Keitany dominate and dazzle in London. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-07.
  11. ↑ Yelena Kurdyumova and Sergey Porada (2011-11-06). Kwambai beats the rain and chill in Seoul. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-07.
  12. ↑ Yelena Kurdyumova and Sergey Porada (2012-03-18). Loyanae cruises 2:05:37 to shatter course record in Seoul. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-24.
  13. ↑ Yelena Kurdyumova and Sergey Porada (2012-11-04). Kwambai defends, clocks 2:05:50 course record in Seoul. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-11-04.
  14. ↑ Nakamura, Ken (2013-02-24). Kimetto clocks course record 2:06:50 at Tokyo Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-02.
  15. ↑ Kwambai secures hat-trick in Seoul. IAAF (2013-11-03). Retrieved on 2013-11-03.
  16. ↑ Minshull, Phil (2014-03-16). Jarso smashes personal best with 2:06:17 to win in Seoul. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-22.
  17. ↑ IAAF website, February 28, 2005: Kwambai and Console run fast Half Marathons in Rome
  18. ↑ IAAF website, February 28, 2008: Women’s course record goes at Rome-Ostia Half Marathon with 1:09 run

External links