 Magut at the 2012Bislett Games | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Representing Kenya | ||
| Commonwealth Games | ||
 | 2014 Glasgow | 1500 metres |
 | 2010 New Delhi | 1500 metres |
| African Athletics Championships | ||
 | 2012 Porto Novo | 1500 metres |
| IAAF World Relays | ||
| 2014 Nassau | 4×1500 m relay |
James Kiplagat Magut (born 20 July 1990) is a Kenyan from Nandi County Kosirai wardmiddle-distance runner who specialises in the1500 metres. He has a personal best of 3:30.61 minutes for the event as well as a best of 3:50.68 minutes for themile run.
He won his first medals as a teenager, taking second at the2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics and winning the2009 African Junior Athletics Championships. His first senior podium finish soon followed: on his major international debut at the2010 Commonwealth Games, he claimed the silver medal. He was the bronze medallist at the2012 African Championships in Athletics.
Magut was part of theworld record-setting4×1500 metres relay team that won the gold medal at the2014 IAAF World Relays.
Born inNandi County,[1] Magut gained his first national selection after a runner-up finish in the 1500 m at the Kenyan junior championships.[2] At the2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics, he seemed set to win the title but Algeria'sImad Touil narrowly beat him into second place by a tenth of a second.[3] Following this he performed in Europe for the first time, finishing in the top ten at theRieti Meeting andHanžeković Memorial.[4] The next year, the eighteen-year-old runner won the Kenyan high school championship, holding offNixon Chepseba.[5] He topped the podium at the2009 African Junior Athletics Championships.[6] He competed infrequently the year after, but in spite of this won his first major medal in the form of a silver behindSilas Kiplagat at the2010 Commonwealth Games.[7]
Magut missed the 2011 season due to a knee injury,[8] but returned in May 2012 with a win at the Kenyan Armed Forces Championships,[9] then his first sub-four-minute mile to win at thePrefontaine Classic meeting.[8] He set a new best of 3:50.68 for the distance at theDream Mile at theBislett Games a week later – this was only enough for sixth at the higher calibre event, but still ranked him the eighth fastest runner that year.[10][11] He ran a 1500 m personal best of 3:34.60 minutes to place second at the national championship race, but faltered at theKenyan Olympic trials, coming in sixth place and failing to break 3:40 minutes. This run still earned him a spot on the team for the2012 African Championships in Athletics, where he took the bronze medal, half a second behind the winnerCaleb Mwangangi.[12] Magut came third at theBritish Grand Prix (his first top three placing on theIAAF Diamond League) and peaked for the season at the Hanžeković Memorial, winning with a personal best of 3:33.31 minutes.[13]
At the start of his 2013 season, he won at theMelbourne Track Classic,[14] then in the Prefontaine Classic mile.[15] He was third at the Bislett Games and was runner-up at the national championships. He did not finish in the top three at the Kenyan World Championships trials and failed to finish at theHerculis andDN Galan2013 IAAF Diamond League meets. His best run that year came at theLondon Grand Prix, where he was third in the mile in a near personal best of 3:50.93 minutes, ranking him eighth that year for the distance.[16]
Magut had a string of victories in Australia in early 2014, winning in Melbourne,Perth andSydney. A personal best for the 1500 m followed at theDoha Diamond League meet, although his time of 3:30.61 minutes placed him fifth in the quick race.[4] These performances earned him a place on the Kenyan4×1500 metres relay team for the inaugural2014 IAAF World Relays. Running alongsideSilas Kiplagat,Asbel Kiprop andCollins Cheboi, the group won the gold medal in aworld record-breaking time of 14:22.22 minutes – a fourteen-second improvement.[17]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | World Junior Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 2nd | 1500 metres | 3:47.51 |
| 2009 | African Junior Championships | Bambous, Mauritius | 1st | 1500 metres | 3:37.05 |
| 2010 | Commonwealth Games | New Delhi, India | 2nd | 1500 metres | 3:42.27 |
| 2012 | African Championships | Porto Novo, Benin | 3rd | 1500 metres | 3:36.35 |
| 2014 | IAAF World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 1st | 4×1500 m relay | 14:22.22 minWR |
| Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, Scotland | 1st | 1500 metres | 3:39.31 |
Commonwealth Games champions in men's1500 metres | |
|---|---|
| 1 mile (1930–1966) | |
| 1500 metres (1970–present) |
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