Paul Tergat

Paul Kibii Tergat (born June 17, 1969) is a Kenyan professional athlete. He held the world record in the marathon from 2003 to 2007, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished long-distance runners of all time. [cite web | url=http://www.letsrun.com/2003/tergatberlin.php | title=Paul Tergat Breaks World Record at 2003 Real Berlin Marathon | date=September 28, 2003 | accessdate=2008-09-07] [cite web | url=http://www.runtheplanet.com/community/newsletters/glob0903.asp | title=Paul Tergat to run the Anniversary Marathon in Berlin | accessdate=2008-09-07] [cite web | url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/olympics/newswire/2000/08/11/447224161625_afp/ | title=Tergat one of the greatest Kenyan distance runners | date=August 11, 2000 | publisher=CNN Sports Illustrated | accessdate=2008-09-07]

Now concentrating exclusively on the marathon, Tergat won many titles and set several world records on the track, in cross country, and on the road. Nicknamed the "Gentleman," Tergat is extremely hard-working and self-motivated. He lives and trains in Ngong, near Nairobi.

Early life

Paul Tergat was born on June 17, 1969 in Riwo, Baringo District, in Kenya's Rift Valley Province.

Career

Tergat achieved his most recent victory on November 6, 2005, when he won the New York City Marathon in a thrilling sprint finish through New York's Central Park, prevailing over defending champion Hendrick Ramaala 2:09:29.90 to 2:09:30.22.

He set the marathon world record of "2:04:55", on September 28, 2003 at the Berlin Marathon. That is an average pace of "0:02:57" per kilometer (20.3 km/h) or "0:04:46" per mile (12.6 MPH). In his world record race, Tergat badly abraded his foot. He later said it felt like the sole of his shoe fell off. He also took a momentary wrong turn near the finish. Tergat's countryman Sammy Korir, who was a pacesetter for the race, nearly caught up to him. Korir took second place in 2:04:56, then the second-fastest marathon performance in history. [Marathon world best progression] [ [http://www.iaaf.org/WHM03/news/Kind=8/newsId=23298.html Tergat goes under 2:05 in Berlin] - IAAF] [ YouTube video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUAfkNGYY9Y Paul Tergat's marathon world record] - 2003 Berlin marathon] Tergat's world record was broken in 2007 by Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia.

Tergat won five straight IAAF World Cross Country Championships titles, 1995 to 1999, which was a record. Says Tergat, "Cross country is what I always liked most. It was my world, my passion. Before the IAAF introduced the short course in 1998, all the world class athletes from 1500 m to the marathon were in the same race. The World Cross Country Championship was the toughest distance race in the world to win."Fact|date=March 2007

Tergat's achievements also include 5 victories in the traditional Saint Silvester Road Race, the most important event in Latin American street racing. He holds the record for the present 15 km distance, which he established in 1995. His performances in the Saint Silvester race have earned him celebrity status in Brazil.

He has had an intense rivalry with his friend Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia. In the Olympic Games 10,000m finals of both 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics, he was defeated by Gebrselassie by slim margins. In 2000, the margin of victory was only nine hundredths of a second. [ 2000 Sydney Olympics YouTube video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD8xz1Vg6Fk men's 10000m] finish] [ 2000 Sydney Olympics YouTube video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eN-GxCJodE men's 10000m] last 3k] [ 2000 Sydney Olympics YouTube video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOu5BDK1Ljo men's 10000m] introduction, start, and to the 5 lap ]

Tergat finished second to Gebrselassie in the 1997 and 1999 World Championships in Athletics at 10,000 m, and finished third in the 1995 version of that race, behind Gebrselassie and Moroccan Khalid Skah.

On the track, Tergat broke Gebrselassie's 10,000 meter world record on August 22, 1997 in Brussels with a time 26:27.85 minutes. On the road, Tergat broke the half marathon world record on April 4, 1998 in Milan by running in 59:17 minutes. (Tergat had run 58:51 minutes at the Stramilano half marathon in 1996, but a misplaced cone made the course slightly too short and no record was allowed.) The previous record, 59:47 minutes was set by Moses Tanui in 1993. Tergat's world record was broken in 2005 by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru, another Kenyan.

When Tergat raced Gebrselassie in the London Marathon in 2002, it was Tergat who beat Gebrselassie; Tergat was in second place behind then world record holder Khalid Khannouchi. The three runners raced again in the 2007 version with Tergat being the only one of them to finish.

In January 2004 Tergat was named a UN World Food Programme (WFP) "Ambassador Against Hunger". When he was a child, Paul Tergat's family was too poor to send him to school with food. According to Tergat, he would not have gotten a full education were it not for the World Food Program, which provided lunch at his school.Fact|date=March 2007

In the 2004 Athens Olympic marathon, Tergat missed his water point and drank water supplied by organizers. He is accustomed to drinking water at room temperature; the organizers supplied cold water, which gave Tergat cramps. Tergat finished 10^th .

A week prior to the London Marathon on April 23, 2006, Tergat pulled a calf muscle. Calling the injury "cruel," he was forced to withdraw from the star-studded race, which would have featured a long-awaited showdown with Haile Gebrselassie. The race was won by Felix Limo of Kenya.

Marílson Gomes dos Santos won the 2006 New York City Marathon; Tergat finished third. Gomes made a move at mile 19 and Tergat did not respond, saying "I'll be honest, I didn't know exactly who he was."Fact|date=March 2007 Tergat steadily closed the gap over the final five miles. [ YouTube video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Es-TUfJVlA 2006 New York City Marathon Highlights] ]

Tergat finished sixth (2:08:06) at the 2007 London Marathon in April 2007. The entry list was competitive, including Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie, who dropped out just past the 30-K mark. Kenya's Martin Lel won the race in a time of 2:07.42, after a dramatic, gutsy finish.

He has expressed a desire to compete in 2008 Olympics.

On September 30, 2007 Ethiopian long distance runner Haile Gebrselassie broke Tergat's record marathon time of 2:04.55, finishing the Berlin Marathon in 2:04:26. Moments after finishing the race, Gebrselassie apologized to his friend Tergat for breaking the record, during a congratulatory phone call. Gebrselassie later explained "I am sorry -- this record belonged to Paul Tergat," Gebrselassie told a news conference when asked about the phone call. "Paul is my friend."

Honors

*1995
** Gold medal, 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
** Bronze medal, 1995 World Championships in Athletics 10,000 m
*1996
** Silver medal, 1996 Summer Olympics 10,000 m
** Gold medal, 1996 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
*1997
** Gold medal, 1997 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
** Silver medal, 1997 World Championships in Athletics 10,000 m
*1998
**Gold medal, 1998 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
**Gold medal, IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
*1999
** Gold medal, 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
** Silver medal, 1999 World Championships in Athletics 10,000 m
** Gold medal, IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
*2000
** Bronze medal, 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
** Silver medal, 2000 Summer Olympics 10,000 m
** Gold medal, IAAF World Half Marathon Championships

Personal bests

"+" indicates mark set en route during a longer race
"a" indicates course slightly downhill

Other activities

Tergat set up the "Paul Tergat Foundation" in 2005. It is meant to help disadvantaged Kenyan sportspeople [http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news_s.php?articleid=29876&date=3/10/2005] . He runs a Sports Marketing and PR company known as Fine Touch Communications (organises the annual Sportsman Of the Year Awards in Kenya in conjunction with Safaricom, a leading mobile telephony provider in Kenya. He's also considering launching a clothing line under the name "Tergat" in the coming months.

External links

*http://www.paul-tergat.net/ The first website dedicated to Paul Tergat
*iaaf name|id=9745|name=Paul Tergat
*cite news |first=Omulo |last=Okoth |title=A Kenyan XC legend - Paul Tergat |url=http://www.iaaf.org/WXC07/news/Kind=2/newsId=38052.html |work=IAAF |date=23 March 2007 |accessdate=2007-03-23
*cite news |author=World Food Programme |title=Marathon man with a mission |url=http://www.wfp.org/newsroom/in_depth/africa/tergat0209.htm |work= |date= |accessdate=2007-03-23
* [http://www.paul-tergat.net/tergat-gebre.htm Paul Tergat Versus Haile Gebrselassie] - www.paul-tergat.net

References