| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 October 1970 (1970-10) (age 55) |
Medal record | |
Moses Kiptanui (born 1 October 1970) is a Kenyanmiddle andlong distanceathlete mostly famous for3000 metres steeplechase in which he was the number one ranked athlete from 1991 to 1995 and three timeIAAF World Champion. Kiptanui was the first man to ever run the 3000m steeplechase in under eight minutes. He is also known for his coaching role in his later years with Tarbert GAA.
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Kiptanui is from Kenya. His younger brother, Philemon Tanui, attendedUniversity of Wyoming and ran competitively for the school.[citation needed]
Kiptanui emerged in 1991 as a relatively unknown athlete. He won severalIAAF Grand Prix races that season. He celebrated an especially spectacular victory inZürich where he fell on the track on the last lap but still won easily. He was known as a highly confident and somewhat cocky athlete, who was self-coached and driven by his own self belief.[1]
His victory at the1991 World Championships in Athletics inTokyo therefore came as no surprise. To the great disappointment of many observers he was not included in the Kenyan team at the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona. Kiptanui had failed to qualify at the Kenyan trials in Nairobi.
However, shortly after the Olympics he set a new world record over 3000m inCologne with a time of 7:28.96 min. Only three days later he also broke the 3000m steeplechase world record in 8:02.08 in Zürich. The following year, he defended the World Championship title easily in Stuttgart. He won the steeplechase at the1994 IAAF World Cup.[2]
In 1995, he broke the 5000m world record inRome in a time of 12:55.30 min (8 June). After collecting his third World Championship gold medal inGothenburg he also set the new 3000m steeplechase record in Zürich in a time of 7:59.18 min (16 August), the first man in history to ever dip under eight minutes for the 3000m steeplechase.
A year later, he achieved an Olympic silver medal at the1996 Summer Olympics inAtlanta. He was defeated by fellow KenyanJoseph Keter. The next year, at the1997 World Championships in Athletics inAthens, Kiptanui failed to win his fourth consecutive gold medal, but took silver. The winner wasWilson Boit Kipketer, also from Kenya.
He was still active in 2001 sighting the 2002 Commonwealth Games,[3] but did not compete there.
After retirement, he was a running coach. In 2008, he coached the 2004 Olympic gold medalist,Ezekiel Kemboi.[4] He has also been the chairman of the Marakwet District branch ofAthletics Kenya.[5]
A school was built by Shoe4Africa to honor the lifetime achievements of Kiptanui. The Shoe4Africa Moses Kiptanui School was opened in 2012 at Kamoi district, Marakwet and has eight primary classes with 320 students. Two ancillary early childhood development classes were added in 2015.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's 3000 m World Record Holder August 16, 1992 – August 2, 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Men's 5000 m World Record Holder June 6, 1995 – August 16, 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Men's Steeplechase World Record Holder August 19, 1992 – August 13, 1997 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Men's 3000 m Best Year Performance 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Men's 3000 m Best Year Performance 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Men's 5000 m Best Year Performance 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Men's 3000 m Steeple Best Year Performance 1991 – 1995 | Succeeded by |
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African Champions in men's1500 metres | |
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World U20 Champions in men's1500 metres | |
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