Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983)[2] is a Kenyanlong-distance runner. She represented Kenya at theSummer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning the silver medal in the5,000 metres and bronze in the10,000 metres at the2012 London Olympics as well as gold in the 5,000 m and silver in the 10,000 m at the2016 Rio Olympics, setting a newOlympic record in the former. Cheruiyot won the silver medal in the 5,000 m at the2007 World Championships in Athletics and became the world champion in the event at the2009 edition, repeating this achievement in2011, when she also won the 10,000 m. She added gold for the latter event at the2015 World Championships in Athletics. After taking a silver in the3,000 metres at the2010 World Indoor Championships, Cheruiyot won a number of outdoor 5,000 m titles that year, becomingCommonwealth Games,African andContinental Cup champion, as well as winning theDiamond League title.
She is a three-time Diamond League champion, having also won the2011 and2012 editions. She is theKenyan record holder for the2,000 m and 10,000 m. In 2012, Cheruiyot was votedLaureus World Sportswoman of the Year. She is nicknamed "pocket rocket".[3]
Vivian Cheruiyot is trained by Ricky Simms.[4] She was born nearKeiyo in theRift Valley Province, coming from the same village as another female runnerAlice Timbilili.[5]
Her breakthrough year came in 1999: at the age of fifteen she took the junior silver medal at the1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships behindWerknesh Kidane. At the1999 World Youth Championships in Athletics she won the bronze medal in the3000 metres. Cheruiyot earned a senior call-up for the1999 All-Africa Games, where she managed a bronze medal in the5000 metres. She became the junior champion at the2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Cheruiyot gained selection for the2000 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.[6]
Cheruiyot won the silver medal at the 5000 m final of the2007 World Championships inOsaka, Japan with a time of 14:58.50, behindMeseret Defar in 14:57.91.[7]
In early 2009 she broke the Kenyan indoor 3000 m record with a time of 8:30.53 inBirmingham, and won theWorld's Best 10K race inPuerto Rico.[8] In May, she won theGreat Manchester Run 10K race. Cheruiyot won the women's 5000 m at the2009 World Championships inBerlin with a time of 14 minutes 58.33 seconds, while countrywomanSylvia Kibet took the silver. She closed the track season with a 3000 m silver and a 5000 m bronze at the2009 IAAF World Athletics Final. She won the 2009 New Year's EveSan Silvestre Vallecana race.[9]
Cheruiyot retained her World's Best 10K title in 2010.[10] An appearance at the2010 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 theAfrican Championships in Athletics inNairobi and beat Defar on this occasion to take the African title.[11] After this, her main focus of the year was theDiamond League. She took victories in the 5000 m at theMeeting Areva andMemorial van Damme and was elected the inaugural Diamond League Trophy winner for the event on overall points.[12] She defeatedSentayehu Ejigu at theContinental Cup to take the 5000 m gold medal for Africa.[13] Another gold medal in the event came at theCommonwealth Games held that year inDelhi, where she headed a Kenyan podium sweep with Sylvia Kibet andInes Chenonge.[14] Cheruiyot returned to Kenya to train and took an 8 km win at theTuskys Cross Country meeting.[15] She ended the year on a high note with a win at theBOclassic 5K race on New Year's Eve.[16]
Cheruiyot began preparing for theWorld Cross Country Championships in January 2011 and came third at theGreat Edinburgh Cross Country before overhaulingLinet Masai to win theCross de Itálica in Seville.[17][18] A second-place finish at theKenyan 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.[19] 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.[20]
She started 2012 with a win at theWorld's Best 10K and improved her best on the roads to 30:47 minutes.[21] She opened theDiamond League circuit with narrow wins ahead of Meseret Defar, first in the 3000 m in Doha and then over 5000 m in Rome.[22] Cheruiyot guaranteed her place at the Olympics by winning the 10,000 m trial in Nairobi in June.[23] At the Olympics, she won the silver medal in the 5000 metres and a bronze at the 10,000 metres.[1]
In 2018, she won the2018 London Marathon with a time of 2:18:31.[2]
She took second place in the2018 New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:26:02 far behind winnerMary Keitany in 2:22:48, and 20 seconds ahead ofShalane Flanagan who ran 2:26:22.[24]
All information taken fromWorld Athletics profile.[2]
| Type | Event | Time (m:s) | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Track | 1500 metres | 4:06.6h | Nairobi, Kenya | 18 May 2012 | |
| 2000 metres | 5:31.52 | Eugene, OR, United States | 7 June 2009 | NR | |
| 3000 metres | 8:28.66 | Stuttgart, Germany | 23 September 2007 | ||
| 3000 metres indoor | 8:30.53 | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 21 February 2009 | ||
| Two miles indoor | 9:12.35 | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 20 February 2010 | ||
| 5000 metres | 14:20.87 | Stockholm, Sweden | 29 July 2011 | ||
| 10,000 metres | 29:32.53 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 12 August 2016 | NR | |
| Road | 5 kilometres | 15:11 | London, United Kingdom | 6 September 2009 | |
| 10 kilometres | 30:47 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 26 February 2012 | ||
| 10 miles | 51:17 | Portsmouth, United Kingdom | 25 October 2015 | ||
| Half marathon | 1:06:34 | Lisbon, Portugal | 17 March 2019 | ||
| Marathon | 2:18:31 | London, United Kingdom | 22 April 2018 |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | World Cross Country Championships | Marrakech, Morocco | 5th | Junior race (6 km) | 19:47 |
| 1999 | World Cross Country Championships | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 2nd | Junior race (6.124 km) | 21:37 |
| All-Africa Games | Johannesburg, South Africa | 3rd | 5000 m | 15:42.79 | |
| World Youth Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 3rd | 3000 m | 9:04.42 | |
| 2000 | World Cross Country Championships | Vilamoura, Portugal | 1st | Junior race (6.29 km) | 20:34 |
| 2001 | World Cross Country Championships | Ostend, Belgium | 4th | Junior race (5.9 km) | 20:22 |
| African Junior Championships | Réduit, Mauritius | 1st | 5000 m | 16:19.54 | |
| 2002 | World Cross Country Championships | Dublin, Ireland | 3rd | Junior race (5.962 km) | 20:22 |
| World Junior Championships | Kingston, Jamaica | 3rd | 5000 m | 15:56.04 | |
| 2004 | World Cross Country Championships | Brussels, Belgium | 8th | Short race (4 km) | 13:23 |
| 2006 | World Cross Country Championships | Fukuoka, Japan | 8th | Short race (4 km) | 13:10 |
| World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 3000 m | 8:38.86 | |
| 5th | 5000 m | 16:07.95 | |||
| 2007 | World Cross Country Championships | Mombasa, Kenya | 8th | Long race (8 km) | 28:10 |
| World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 2nd | 5000 m | 14:58.50 | |
| World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 2nd | 3000 m | 8:28.66PB | |
| 1st | 5000 m | 14:56.94 | |||
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 4th | 5000 m | 15:46.32 |
| World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 2nd | 3000 m | 8:44.64 | |
| 2nd | 5000 m | 14:54.60 | |||
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 1st | 5000 m | 14:57.97 |
| World Athletics Final | Thessaloniki, Greece | 2nd | 3000 m | 8:30.61 | |
| 3rd | 5000 m | 15:26.21 | |||
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | 2nd | 3000 m | 8:51.85 |
| African Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 1st | 5000 m | 16:18.73 | |
| Continental Cup | Split, Croatia | 1st | 5000 m | 16:05.74 | |
| Commonwealth Games | New Delhi, India | 1st | 5000 m | 15:55.12 | |
| 2011 | World Cross Country Championships | Punta Umbría, Spain | 1st | Senior race (8 km) | 24:58 |
| World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 1st | 5000 m | 14:55.36 | |
| 1st | 10,000 m | 30:48.98 | |||
| 2012 | Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 2nd | 5000 m | 15:04.73 |
| 3rd | 10,000 m | 30:30.44 | |||
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 1st | 10,000 m | 31:41.31 |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1st | 5000 m | 14:26.17OR |
| 2nd | 10,000 m | 29:32.53NR |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Vitoria Marathon | Vittoria, Spain | 1st | 2:41:09 | 13 April |
| 2017 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 4th | 2:23:50 | 23 April |
| Frankfurt Marathon | Frankfurt, Germany | 1st | 2:23:35 | 29 October | |
| 2018 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 1st | 2:18:31 | 22 April |
| New York Marathon | New York, NY, United States | 2nd | 2:26:02 | 4 November | |
| 2019 | London Marathon | London, United Kingdom | 2nd | 2:20:14 | 28 April |
| Valencia Marathon | Valencia, Spain | 4th | 2:18:52 | 1 December |
2010,2011,2012
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year 2011 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Women's 3000 m Best Year Performance 2008 | Succeeded by Meseret Defar |
| Preceded by Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar | Women's 5000 m Best Year Performance 2010–2012 (shared with Meseret Defar) | Succeeded by Tirunesh Dibaba |
| 3000 metres (1980–1993) |
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| 5000 metres (1995–present) |
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Note: In1995, the 3000 m was replaced by the 5000 m. | |
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| 5000 metres (1998–present) | |
African Champions in women's5000 metres | |
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London Marathon – women's winners | |
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