Paul Chelimo

Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo

Chelimo in 2016
Personal information
Nationality	United States
Born	(1990-10-27) October 27, 1990 (age 31) Iten, Kenya
Alma mater	University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Website	www.paulchelimo.com
Sport
Country	USA
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	1500–10,000 m
Club	United States Army
Achievements and titles
World finals	2017 5000 m,  Bronze 2019 5000 m, 7th
Olympic finals	2016 5000 m,  Silver 2020 5000 m,  Bronze
Personal best(s)	1500 m: 3:39.33 (Zagreb 2016) Mile: 3:55.96 (Birmingham 2018) 3000 m: 7:31.57 (Doha 2017) 2-Mile: 8:07.59 (Palo Alto 2019) 5000 m: 12:57.55 (Brussels 2018) 10,000 m: 27:43.89 (Stockholm 2019) Half marathon: 62:19 (New York 2019)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  United States Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro 5000 m 2020 Tokyo 5000 m World Championships 2017 London 5000 m Representing Americas Continental Cup 2018 Ostrava 3000 m

Chelimo finishing runner-up in the men's 5,000 m at the 2016 Olympic Games

Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo (born October 27, 1990) is an American track and field athlete. He is the 2016 Olympic silver medalist and the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist in the 5000 meters.

Career[]

In 2010, Chelimo initially went to the US to run for Shorter College where he won the 3000 meters and was part of their winning distance medley relay team as Shorter won the 2011 NAIA National Indoor Championship. Later that year, Shorter won the NAIA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship as Chelimo won the 5000 meters and 10000 meters at the championships. He transferred to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, taking 2nd place in the 2012 NCAA Championships 5000 meters and repeated the place in 2013.^[2]

Chelimo found his path to citizenship by joining the United States Army through the Military accessions vital to national interest (MAVNI) program as a water treatment specialist, then entering their World Class Athletic Program in 2014.^[3]

He represented the United States in the 3000 meters at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships held in Portland, Oregon. He qualified to the World Championships by taking second place at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships on the same track a week earlier, setting a personal record of 7:39.00.^[4]

Later in 2016, he finished third in the 5000 meters at the Olympic Trials. Running aggressively, Chelimo was the first to cover an early breakaway, which was eventually swallowed by another breakaway by previous trials winner Galen Rupp. Again, Chelimo led the last lap charge to run down Rupp, and after catching him, Chelimo held the lead onto the final straightaway. Chelimo was eventually run down by the sprint finish of 41-year-old Kenyan American Bernard Lagat, followed closely by Hassan Mead. But Chelimo was able to hold his position to the finish, beating Eric Jenkins to the line by 0.06 of a second and qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics.^[1]

2016 Olympics[]

Chelimo ran a personal best 13:19.54 in the prelim of the 5000 metres at the 2016 Summer Olympics. During the final he stayed near the lead the entire race, withstanding every attack three Ethiopian teammates were trying to throw against eventual winner Mo Farah. When Farah launched his final kick to win the race, Chelimo was the last to follow Farah, looking, for a few moments at the head of the final stretch, like he would be the only one able to outsprint Farah to the line. Farah pulled away and Chelimo followed him across the finish line. On the scoreboard, he was initially announced as the silver medal winner. Then his name was removed from the results, along with Canadian Mohammed Ahmed and Ethiopian Muktar Edris. Chelimo had exchanged elbows with both of them during the final turn. Video showed Chelimo stepping inside of the track. Hagos Gebrhiwet was elevated to second place, American Bernard Lagat was elevated to third. The United States appealed and the medal was reinstated, with Edris, the initiator of the contact remaining disqualified.^[5] He set a new personal best of 13:03.90 in the race. Chelimo's medal was the first for the US in the event since Bob Schul and Bill Dellinger in the 1964 Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo.^[6]

2017 World Championships[]

Now an American star, he won the National Championships by seven seconds in record time. At the World Championships, it was a set of familiar faces on the last lap. This time though, Edris and his teammate Yomif Kejelcha got the jump on Farah and Chelimo going in to the final lap and Chelimo was running virtually even with Farah. In their pursuit of eventual winner Edris, both had to weave around Kejelcha then sprint for the line. In his last championship track race, Farah again beat Chelimo across the line, but this time it was much closer, barely a half meter separating the two, Chelimo getting bronze.

2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships[]

Chelimo participated in the 3000m of the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He won the race with a time of 7:57.88, thereby qualifying for the 2018 World Championships.^[7] In the heats of the World Indoor Championships, he was one of many victims of a spate of disqualifications at that meet. After appeal, he did not get to run in the final.^[8]

Major competitions[]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  United States
2016	U.S. Olympic Trials	Eugene, Oregon	3rd	5000 m	13:35.92
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	2nd	5000 m	13:03.90
2017	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	3rd	5000 m	13:33.30
2019	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	7th	5000 m	13:04.60
2021	U.S. Olympic Trials	Eugene, Oregon	1st	5000 m	13:26.82
	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	3rd	5000 m	12:59.05

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo.

External links[]

• Paul Chelimo at World Athletics
• Paul Chelimo on Twitter
• All-Athletics Paul Chelimo biography
• U.S. Army profile