Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot

Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot

Personal information
Born	(1978-09-26) 26 September 1978 (age 43) Kapsabet, Kenya
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb; 11 st 0 lb)
Sport
Country
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	10,000 metres: 27:48 Half Marathon: 1:00:05 Marathon: 2:07:14
Medal record Representing  Kenya World Marathon Majors 2008 Boston Marathon 2007 Boston Marathon 2006 Chicago Marathon 2006 Boston Marathon 2003 Boston Marathon

Robert "Mwafrika" Kipkoech Cheruiyot (born September 26, 1978 in Kapsabet, Kenya), sometimes known as Omar Ahmed,^[1] is a Kenyan marathon runner and is the former record holder and five-time winner of the Boston Marathon.

Early career[]

Cheruiyot trained running while at school, but was unable to pay school fees and became a high school drop out. He ended up working at a barber shop in , but could hardly buy a meal with his low salary. Later he managed to access Moses Tanui's training camp in Kaptagat. Soon thereafter he made a breakthrough by winning a local 10K race in 2001 and headed for international competitions.^[2]

Cheruiyot won the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon in March 2002.^[3] His marathon debut, Milan Marathon in December 2002 saw three top finishers - Cheruiyot, Mike Rotich and Daniele Caimmi all posting the same time, 2:08:59 hours, but Cheruiyot emerged the winner.^[4] Cheruiyot also won the Saint Silvester Road Race at the end of 2002, the first one of three.^[5]

Major marathons[]

Robert Cheruiyot in 2008 Boston Marathon at Kilometer 40th

He won the Boston Marathon in 2003, 2006, 2007 and most recently in 2008. His 2006 Boston finishing time of 2:07:14 broke a Boston marathon course record set by Cosmas Ndeti that had lasted 12 years. His record was broken in the 2010 Boston Marathon by Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot (unrelated) with a finishing time of 2:05:52.

He finished 4th in the 2005 New York Marathon and 2nd in the 2009 New York Marathon. He sought to win another title in Boston in 2005 as well but only finished 5th that year.

During his win at Chicago in 2006, Cheruiyot did not actually break the tape at the finish line. He slipped at the end and crossed the finish line as he slipped forward making him the winner. It was ruled that he did cross the finish line in doing so. He injured his head against the ground in the fall and had to be helped from the course in a wheelchair. He suffered a brain contusion and was released from the hospital after two days of observation. His time of 2:07:35 was five seconds faster than 2nd-place finisher Daniel Njenga. The win in Chicago left him at the top of the 2006 World Marathon Majors standings and won its grand prize.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

In 2007, Cheruiyot defended his title and won his third Boston Marathon with an official time of 2:14:13. Fellow Kenyans were second and third. It was the 15th time in the last 17 years that a Kenyan has won the Boston marathon but it was also the slowest Boston Marathon since 1977 as runners faced cold headwinds gusting up to 50 miles per hour. Cheruiyot also won $100,000 for the victory and gained a significant lead in the World Marathon Majors series.^[11][12][13]

On April 21, 2008, he won his fourth Boston Marathon title with a time of 2:07:45, making him the first four-time winner in the men's open division since Bill Rodgers (fellow Kenyan Catherine Ndereba recorded her fourth win in 2005).

In April 2009, Cheruiyot started the Boston Marathon but did not finish and was sent to the hospital.

He is not to be confused with Robert Kiprotich Cheruiyot^[14] or Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot,^[15] who are both also Kenyan marathon runners.

Achievements[]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Kenya
2001	Rotterdam Marathon	Rotterdam, Netherlands	10th	Marathon	2:10:41
	Reims Marathon	Reims, France	1st	Marathon	2:13:17
2002	Milan Marathon	Milan, Italy	1st	Marathon	2:08:59
	Paris Marathon	Paris, France	4th	Marathon	2:09:39
2003	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:10:11
	Milan Marathon	Milan, Italy	3rd	Marathon	2:11:07
2004	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	12th	Marathon	2:14:23
2005	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	5th	Marathon	2:14:30
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	4th	Marathon	2:11:01
2006	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:07:14
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	1st	Marathon	2:07:35
2007	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:14:13
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	4th	Marathon	2:16:13
	Macao Marathon	Macao, China	3rd	Marathon	2:18:36
2008	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:07:45
2009	2009 World Championships	Berlin, Germany	5th	Marathon	2:10:46
	Incheon Bridge Opening Commemorative Marathon	Incheon, South Korea	3rd	Marathon	2:14:29
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	2nd	Marathon	2:09:56
2011	Shanghai Marathon	Shanghai, China	7th	Marathon	2:12:35

See also[]

• List of winners of the Boston Marathon

References[]

External links[]

• Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot at World Athletics
• Rosa & Associati profile
• marathoninfo

Sporting positions
Preceded by Incumbent	Rotterdam Men's Half Marathon Winner 2004	Succeeded by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru