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{{short description|Kenyan long-distance runner}}

factoids

|birth_place = |height =|weight =|country = Kenya|sport = Athletics|event = Marathon|team = NN Running Team|medaltemplates ={{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}}{{MedalSilver|2012 London|Marathon}}{{MedalCompetition|World Championships}}{{MedalGold|2009 Berlin|Marathon}}{{MedalGold|2011 Daegu|Marathon}}}}Abel Kirui (born 6 April 1982) is a long-distance runner from Kenya who competes in marathons. He had back-to-back wins in the World Championship marathon in 2009 and 2011. Kirui won in 2009 with a time of 2:06:54, then defended his title with a winning margin of two minutes and 28 seconds – the largest ever margin at the World Championship event. He earned the silver medal in the 2012 London Olympic marathon.He has also won the 2008 Vienna City Marathon, the 2016 Chicago Marathon and was runner-up at the 2007 Berlin Marathon and 2017 Chicago Marathon.

Career

File:Abel KIRUI Duncan KIBET Paul BIWOTT Vienna-City-Marathon2008.jpg|thumb|left|Kirui tops the podium after setting a course record at the Vienna City MarathonVienna City MarathonAbel Kirui started running while in Samitui Primary School. After high school, the jobless Kirui entered a recruitment race by Administration Police (AP); the winner of such race would be recruited by AP. He won the race and subsequently joined AP, starting serious training only after then. He entered the 2006 Berlin Marathon as a pacemaker, but finished the race ninth.NEWS, International Association of Athletics Federations, IAAF, 22 August 2009,weblink Kirui following Gebrselassie's Berlin example, 24 April 2016, At the 2007 Berlin Marathon, Kirui finished second with a time of 2:06:51, after the winner Haile Gebrselassie, who set a new marathon world record. The time made Kirui the sixth fastest marathoner in 2007. He also won the Paderborn Half-marathon in 2007.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} At the 2008 Vienna City Marathon, he won with a new course record of 2:07:38.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}He finished third in the 2009 Rotterdam Marathon with a time of 2:05:04 after fellow Kenyans Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai,NEWS, IAAF, 5 April 2009,weblink Kibet edges Kwambai as both clock 2:04:27 – Rotterdam Marathon report, 24 April 2016, making him the sixth fastest marathoner ever. On 22 August, Kirui took gold over his teammate Emmanuel Mutai who took silver at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin at a record time of 2:06:54.NEWS,weblink Kirui leads home Kenyan 1–2 in men's marathon, 22 August 2009, Reuters, 22 August 2009, After the 2009 World Championships, Kirui had many unsuccessful attempts to show the dominance he had shown in his Berlin race: he finished in fifth place at the 2010 London Marathon,{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} then failed to finish at the 2011 London Marathon.Immediately after that failure, he started training with the Italian Coach Renato Canova, moving from Kapsabet to Iten, together with Jonathan Maiyo. Training with Canova's group, he was able to recruit the best shape, winning in Daegu his second title in World Championships.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} Kirui ran at the Prefontaine Classic track 25K/30K mixed race, hoping to set a new 25k track record. Although he just managed to dip under the previous world record time for the track 25K, he was well beaten by fellow Kenyan and teammate Moses Mosop, who broke both 25K and 30K world records.NEWS, Martin, David, 4 June 2011, IAAF, 24 April 2016,weblink Mosop rips apart World records for 25,000 and 30,000m in Eugene – Samsung Diamond League, He was given the wildcard spot on the Kenyan marathon team as the defending champion at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. Kirui ran a time of 2:07:38 beating out fellow countryman Vincent Kipruto and Ethiopian Feyisa Lilesa. This made Kirui the third man to defend the marathon world title, following in the steps of Abel Antón and Jaouad Gharib.NEWS, Martin, David, 4 September 2011,weblink Men's Marathon - Final - With runaway victory, Kirui becomes third man to defend title, IAAF, 24 April 2016, He ran over 10 miles at the Great South Run in October and finished as runner-up to Leonard Komon.NEWS, Martin, David, 30 October 2011, IAAF, 30 October 2011,weblink Komon and Mergia take convincing victories in Portsmouth,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20111031173144weblink">weblink 31 October 2011, live, Kirui finished in second at the 2012 Summer Olympics with a time of 2:08:27 barely losing to the winner Stephen Kiprotich by 26 seconds.WEB,weblink Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich wins Olympic marathon, beating defending champ Abel Kirui of Kenya by 26 seconds, Daily News, 2019-10-22, At the 2016 Chicago Marathon, he won with the time of 2:11:23, barely beating Dickson Chumba by 3 seconds.WEB,weblink Abel Kirui edges Chumba to win Chicago Marathon, Taipei Times, 11 October 2016, 2019-10-22, Kirui finished in second place at the 2017 Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:09:48 barely losing to the winner Galen Rupp by 28 seconds.WEB,weblink Galen Rupp is first American to win Chicago Marathon since 2002, USA TODAY, 2019-10-22, Kirui finished the 2017 London Marathon, in fourth place with a time of 2:07:45.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} The following year, at the 2018 London Marathon he once again finished fourth with a time of 2:07:07.WEB,weblink Virgin Money London Marathon 2018, results-2018.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com, 2018-04-30,

Personal life

Kirui lives at Nabkoi, east of Kapsabet. He is married to Stella Jemeli and has a son Tevin Kipchumba.WEB, Standard Digital, 27 August 2009,weblink Kirui takes medal home, met by jubilant admirers, 24 April 2016, Kirui is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.NEWS,weblink Champion Marathoner Talks About Running, Spectrum Magazine, 2019-04-25, WEB,weblink Adventist Olympian says post-marathon celebration is testament to faith in God, Adventist News Network, 2019-04-25, Kirui along with fellow Seventh-day Adventists Priscah Jeptoo and Amos Tirop Matui founded Better Living Marathon.WEB,weblink Adventist church launches Better Living Marathon, Kenya Current, September 2016, 2019-04-26, Marathon runner Michael Kosgei Rotich is his uncle. Kirui is coached by Renato Canova.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Abel Kirui}}

• {{World Athletics}}
• Marathoninfo profile
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121019022236weblink">World Marathon Majors profile

{{Footer World Champions Marathon Men}}{{Footer Chicago Marathon Champions Men}}{{Footer Vienna Marathon Champions Men}}{{Authority control}}