Vivian Cheruiyot

Vivian Cheruiyot
Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning the silver medal in the 5000 metres and bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2012 London Olympics as well as gold in the 5000 m and silver in the 10,000 m at the 2016 Rio Olympics, setting a new Olympic record in the former. Cheruiyot won the silver medal in the 5000 m at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and became the world champion in the event at the 2009 edition, repeating this achievement in 2011, when she also won the 10000 m. She added gold for the latter event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. After taking a silver in the 3000 metres at the 2010 World Indoor Championships, Cheruiyot won a number of outdoor 5000 m titles that year, becoming Commonwealth Games, African and Continental Cup champion, as well as winning the Diamond League title.
She is a three-time Diamond League champion having also won the 2011 and 2012 edition. She is the Kenyan record holder for the 2000 m and 10,000 m. In 2012, Cheruiyot was voted Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year.
Career
Vivian Cheruiyot is trained by Ricky Simms. She was born near Keiyo in the Rift Valley Province, coming from the same village as another female runner Alice Timbilili.
Her breakthrough year came in 1999: at the age of fifteen she took the junior silver medal at the 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships behind Werknesh Kidane. At the 1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics she won the bronze medal in the 3000 metres. Cheruiyot earned a senior call-up for the 1999 All-Africa Games, where she managed a bronze medal in the 5000 metres. She became the junior champion at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Cheruiyot gained selection for the 2000 Olympic Games and reached the 5000 m final after setting personal bests in the qualifying rounds. She was much slower in the final and was the last runner to finish.
Cheruiyot won the silver medal at the 5000 m final of the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan with a time of 14:58.50, behind Meseret Defar in 14:57.91.
In early 2009 she broke the Kenyan indoor 3000 m record with a time of 8:30.53 in Birmingham, and won the World's Best 10K race in Puerto Rico. In May, she won the Great Manchester Run 10K race. Cheruiyot won the women's 5000 m at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin with a time of 14 minutes 58.33 seconds, while countrywoman Sylvia Kibet took the silver. She closed the track season with a 3000 m silver and a 5000 m bronze at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final. She won the 2009 New Year's Eve San Silvestre Vallecana race.
Cheruiyot retained her World's Best 10K title in 2010. An appearance at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships resulted in a silver medal in the 3000 m behind Meseret Defar. Cheruiyot then headed the Kenyan 5000 m challenge at the African Championships in Athletics in Nairobi and beat Defar on this occasion to take the African title. After this, her main focus of the year was the Diamond League. She took victories in the 5000 m at the Meeting Areva and Memorial van Damme and was elected the inaugural Diamond League Trophy winner for the event on overall points. She defeated Sentayehu Ejigu at the Continental Cup to take the 5000 m gold medal for Africa. Another gold medal in the event came at the Commonwealth Games held that year in Delhi, where she headed a Kenyan podium sweep with Sylvia Kibet and Ines Chenonge. Cheruiyot returned to Kenya to train and took an 8 km win at the Tuskys Cross Country meeting. She ended the year on a high note with a win at the BOclassic 5K race on New Year's Eve.
Cheruiyot began preparing for the World Cross Country Championships in January 2011 and came third at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country before overhauling Linet Masai to win the Cross de Itálica in Seville. A second-place finish at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships guaranteed her a place in the Kenyan squad and, in contrast to her successes on the track, she was looking to win her first cross country medal on the world stage. Her rival Masai led the initial charge at the World Cross Country Championships, but Cheruiyot broke away on the final lap to secure the gold medal and lead Kenya to the women's team title.
She started 2012 with a win at the World's Best 10K and improved her best on the roads to 30:47 minutes. She opened the Diamond League circuit with narrow wins ahead of Meseret Defar, first in the 3000 m in Doha and then over 5000 m in Rome. Cheruiyot guaranteed her place at the Olympics by winning the 10,000 m trial in Nairobi in June. At the Olympics, she won the silver medal in the 5000 metres and a bronze at the 10,000 metres.
In 2018, she won the 2018 London Marathon with a time of 2:18:31.
She took second place in the 2018 New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:26:02 far behind winner Mary Keitany in 2:22:48, and 20 seconds ahead of Shalane Flanagan who ran 2:26:22.
Achievements
All information taken from World Athletics profile.
Personal bests
International competitions
Marathon competition record
Circuit wins and titles
Golden League
2007: Berlin ISTAF
2008: Brussels Memorial Van Damme
Diamond League Overall 5000 metres winner: 2010, 2011, 2012
5000 metres wins, other events specified in parentheses
2010 (3): Lausanne Athletissima (3000 m, ), Paris Meeting Areva) (WL MR), Brussels Memorial Van Damme
2011 (4): Shanghai Golden Grand Prix (WL), Eugene Prefontaine Classic (MR), Stockholm DN Galan (WL ), Zürich Weltklasse (MR)
2012 (4): Doha Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix (3000 m, WL), Rome Golden Gala (WL), London Grand Prix, Brussels
2016 (1): Birmingham British Grand Prix
National titles
Kenyan Athletics Championships
1500 metres: 2009, 2015
5000 metres: 1999, 2010
10,000 metres: 2011, 2012
Recognition
2012 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
References
External links
Read Vivian Cheruiyot's Rising Star Profile on spikesmag.com
1983 births
Living people
People from Elgeyo-Marakwet County
Kenyan female long-distance runners
Olympic athletes for Kenya
Olympic gold medalists for Kenya
Olympic silver medalists for Kenya
Olympic bronze medalists for Kenya
Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Kenya
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya
World Athletics Championships medalists
World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners
Laureus World Sports Awards winners
Kalenjin people
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)
African Games bronze medalists for Kenya
African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Kenyan female cross country runners
London Marathon female winners
Olympic female long-distance runners
Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners
Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 All-Africa Games
Diamond League winners
IAAF Continental Cup winners
World Athletics Championships winners
Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games