 Özbilen at the 2016 Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 15 January 1986 (1986-01-15) (age 39) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | 3000m –marathon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 3000m – 7:35.87 (2006) 5000m – 12:58.58 (2006) 10,000m – 27:30.53 (2011) Half marathon – 59:48 (2019) Marathon – 2:04:16 (2019) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mike Kipruto Kigen (born 15 January 1986) is a Kenyanlong-distance runner. He specializes in the5000 metres and10,000 metres and wonsilver medals in both events at theAfrican Championships in Athletics in 2006 representing Kenya. In October 2015, he changed his name toKaan Kigen Özbilen and has since then competed for Turkey.[2]
Kigen was born inKeiyo District. He graduated in 2005 from the Simotwo High School inAinabkoi, Keiyo South District where He was represented the school in various competitions. He is based at the PACE Sports Management training camp inKaptagat.
Kigen's breakthrough year came in 2006 when he represented Kenya internationally at three competitions. He was fifth at the2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – a placing that brought him a gold medal with the Kenyans in the team competition. He set a personal best of 12:58.58 in the5000 metres at theBislett Games inOslo and became the national champion over the distance.[3]
This earned him selection for the2006 African Championships in Athletics inBambous, where he scored asilver medal in his preferred distance before going on to win another silver through a personal best of 28:03.70 in the10,000 metres event. He was not as successful at the2006 IAAF World Athletics Final, taking seventh in the 5000 m, but his track form returned at the2006 IAAF World Cup as he took his second 5000 m silver of the year representing Africa.[3] His career was then disrupted at the end of the season by a severe knee injury in November.[4]
He returned to competition in 2007, but it was in 2008 that he began to regain his form. He won theGreat Capital Run in July 2008, recording a course record of 28:42 minutes.[3] At the2008 IAAF World Athletics Final he ran in the3000 metres and took fourth place. The following year he attended the2009 IAAF World Athletics Final (the last edition of the event) and was eleventh over 5000 m.[5]
He started the 2010cross country running season well, with win at theIAAF permit meetingAntrim International Cross Country and theCrosse Oeust-France.[4] He followed this with another win at theSan Sebastián Cross Country but he was not selected for the Kenyan team for the2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.[3] He set a best of 28:09 over 10 km at theParelloop race inBrunssum in March, coming fourth behindBerhanu Delale. He ran at theGrand 10 Berlin in October and took second place in largely Kenyan affair, finishing with a new personal best of 27:25 for the 10K distance.[6] He returned to the cross country circuit in November, taking third at both theTuskys Cross Country meet in Kenya andCross de l'Acier in France.[7][8] He also won in Antrim the following January, retaining his title.[9]
He was not included in the Kenyan World Cross Country squad and ran hishalf marathon debut instead at theLisbon Half Marathon, coming fifth with a time of 1:00:49.[10] Following this he was runner-up toMicah Kogo at theParelloop in April.[11][12] He competed on the2011 IAAF Diamond League circuit, but did not finish higher than seventh place. He did, however, set a 10,000 m best of 27:30.53 minutes at theMemorial Van Damme.[13] Kigen dipped under the hour mark for the first time at theDelhi Half Marathon, and his time of 59:58 minutes was just one second behind the winnerLelisa Desisa.[12]
He began 2012 with his third straight win in Antrim and a second career victory at theCross de San Sebastián.[14] He came third at theAzkoitia-Azpeitia Half Marathon and second at theWürzburger Residenzlauf. He attempted to gain selection for the2012 London Olympics, but finished tenth in the 10,000 m trial at thePrefontaine Classic and fifth in the Kenyan 5000 m trial. A personal best run of 27:03.49 minutes came at theMemorial Van Damme. His last outing of the year was a fourth-place finish at theGreat North Run.[15]
Kigen made his debut in themarathon in January 2013, coming eighth at theDubai Marathon with a time of 2:08:24 hours.[16]
In the 2014Great North Run Kigen led much of the race, being passed by Mo Farah in the final 300m. Both athletes finished in 59:59.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | World Cross Country Championships | Fukuoka,Japan | 5th | Long race |
| 1st | Team competition | |||
| African Championships | Bambous,Mauritius | 2nd | 5000 m | |
| 2nd | 10,000 m, 28:03.70PB | |||
| World Athletics Final | Stuttgart,Germany | 7th | 5000 m | |
| World Cup | Athens,Greece | 2nd | 5000 m |
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's Marathon European Record Holder 20 March 2016 – 3 December 2017 1 December 2019 – | Succeeded by Sondre Nordstad Moen Incumbent |
European Cross Country Championships champions in men'scross country running | |
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