View source for Sammy Kipketer

{{short description|Kenyan long-distance runner}}
{{MedalTableTop|sport= Men's [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]]|country_code=KEN|medals=
{{Medal|Competition|[[Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold |[[2002 Commonwealth Games|2002 Manchester]]|[[Athletics at the 2002 Commonwealth Games|5000 m]]}}
}}
'''Sammy Kipketer''' (born 29 September 1981 in [[Rokocho]], [[Keiyo District]]) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the [[5000 metres]] and [[cross-country running]].

==Career==
He graduated from Lelboinet Secondary School in 1998. The next year he qualified for the [[1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships]], where he finished sixth at the junior race. The Kenyan Army recruited him in 2001.

He now trains with [[Daniel Komen]] who was Kenya's foremost runner for a while. Kipketer broke the 3,000m [[List of junior world records in athletics|junior world record]] twice when he was 17. He has also broken the 13-minute barrier for the 5000 metres. He won a 10000 metres in Brussels with his personal record time of 26:49.38. Right now he is focusing on 10-kilometre races.

He holds the [[5K run|5 kilometres road running]] world record as recognised by the [[Association of Road Racing Statisticians]] (ARRS), while [[IAAF]] does not keep a world record over the distance. Kipketer's time, 12:59.5 minutes, was set at the [[Carlsbad 5000]] race in [[Carlsbad, California]] in March 2000.<ref name="WR">Association of Road Racing Statisticians: [https://www.arrs.run/working_groups_road_records_english.php World Records]</ref>

He won the [[Parelloop]] 10K in race in the [[Netherlands]] in 2001,<ref>Arrs.net: [https://www.arrs.run/HP_Pll10.htm List of Parelloop winners]</ref> setting a new world record of 27.18 minutes. [[Haile Gebrselassie]] ran the distance in 27:02 minutes in 2002 in [[Doha]], IAAF recognised the time as world record, while ARRS rejected it claiming Gebrselassie got assistance by a vehicle. Thus Kipketer's time is still a valid ARRS world record (as of 2007), although [[Micah Kogo]] has since set a better time, still awaiting ratification by ARRS.<ref name="WR"/>

Kipketer is managed by [[Tom Ratcliffe]] of [[Kimbia Athletics]] and coached by [[Dieter Hogen]]. He belongs to the [[Keiyo]] tribe, a sub-tribe of [[Kalenjin people|Kalenjin]]. He was born in Rokocho, near [[Kaptarakwa]]. He is married and has 1 daughter, and he currently lives in Merewet, [[Uasin Gishu District]]. He is 1.66 metres tall and has a weight of 52&nbsp;kg.

==International competitions==
{| {{AchievementTable|Event=yes}}
|-
!colspan="6"|Representing {{KEN}}
|-
|2000
|[[2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships|World Cross Country Championships]]
|[[Vilamoura]], Portugal
|bgcolor="silver"| 2nd
|Short race
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
|[[2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships|World Cross Country Championships]]
|[[Ostend]], Belgium
| 4th
|Short race
|
|-
|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Edmonton]], Canada
| 6th
|5000 m
|
|-
|rowspan=4|2002
|[[2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships|World Cross Country Championships]]
|[[Dublin]], Ireland
| 4th
|Short race
|
|-
|[[Athletics at the 2002 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]
|[[Manchester]], England
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|5000 m
|
|-
|rowspan=2|[[Africa Military Games]]
|rowspan=2|[[Nairobi]], Kenya
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|5000 m
|
|-
|bgcolor="silver"| 2nd
|10,000 m
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2003
|[[Athletics at the 2003 Military World Games|Military World Games]]
|[[Catania]], Italy
|bgcolor="gold"| 1st
|5000 m
|
|-
|[[2003 IAAF World Athletics Final|World Athletics Final]]
|[[Monte Carlo]], Monaco
|4th
|5000 m
|
|-
|2005
|[[2005 IAAF World Athletics Final|World Athletics Final]]
|[[Monte Carlo]], Monaco
| 5th
|5000 m
|
|}

==Personal bests==
*[[3000 metres]] - 7:33.62 min (2001)
*[[5000 metres]] - 12:52.33 min (2003)
*[[10,000 metres]] - 26:49.38 min (2002)

== References ==

{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{World Athletics}}
*IAAF, March 14, 2005: [http://www.iaaf.org/news/athletes/newsid=28868.html Focus on Africa - Sammy Kipketer (KEN)]
*[http://www.pacesportsmanagement.com/athlete_profile.asp?id=237 PACE Sports Management]{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Footer Commonwealth Champions 5000m Men}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kipketer, Sammy}}
[[Category:1981 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Kenyan male long-distance runners]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Kenya]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games athletes for Kenya]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya]]
[[Category:Kenyan male cross country runners]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:21st-century Kenyan sportsmen]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics]]

{{Kenya-athletics-bio-stub}}