Paul Tergat

When Tergat competed against Gebrselassie in the 2002 London Marathon, Tergat prevailed and finished second behind the then-world record holder Khalid Khannouchi in the competition.  Tergat placed second in his first three marathons, the 2001 Chicago Marathon, and the 2001 and 2002 London Marathons. He continued to run marathons, finishing in fourth place in both London and Chicago in 2003. On September 28, 2003, he established the marathon world record of 2:04:55 at the Berlin Marathon. Tergat defeated defending champion Hendrick Ramaala to win the New York City Marathon on November 6, 2005, by a margin of 2:09:29.90 to 2:09:30.22 in a dramatic sprint race through Central Park in New York. Tergat’s record marathon time of 2:04.55 was broken by his opponent and friend Gebrselassie on September 30, 2007, in the Berlin Marathon with a timing of 2:04:26.

He had a fierce rivalry with his Ethiopian friend Haile Gebrselassie. He was narrowly defeated by Gebrselassie in the 10,000-meter finals of the Olympics in Sydney in 2000 and Atlanta in 1996. Tergat finished second to Gebrselassie in the 10,000 m World Championships in 1997 and 1999, and third in 1995, behind Gebrselassie and Khalid Skah. On August 22, 1997, in Brussels, Tergat ran the 10,000-meter world record faster than Gebrselassie, clocking a time of 26:27.85. Gebrselassie once more shattered the record in 1998 with a time of 26:22:75. When Tergat competed against Gebrselassie in the 2002 London Marathon, Tergat prevailed and came in second. The Ethiopian athlete once more beat Tergat’s record of 2:04.55 on September 30, 2007, finishing at 2:04:26 at the Berlin Marathon.

Although Paul didn’t officially announce his retirement, his last race (according to reports) was the Lake Biwa Marathon which he won in 2009 with a timing 2:10:22. Tergat was appointed the ambassador of the UN World Food Program (WFP) in January 2004. Paul Tergat’s family could not afford to send him to school with meals when he was a child. Tergat asserts that if it weren’t for the World Food Program, which supplied lunch at his school, he wouldn’t have received a complete education. In 2005, Tergat established the Paul Tergat Foundation which works to support underprivileged Kenyan athletes. He is the owner of Fine Touch Communications, a sports marketing and public relations firm. He is also planning to introduce a clothing line under Tergat brand. In addition, he is also a member of the Armed Forces and is stationed at the Moi Air Base in Nairobi. He has been selected to serve as the brand representative for the upcoming World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia.

Paul Tergat was born on June 17, 1969, in Riwo, Baringo District, in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province into a polygamous family with a total of 17 children. Esther Kipkuna Tergat, Tergat’s mother, was one of his father’s three wives. Paul Tergat grew up in Kenya’s drought-plagued Rift Valley, in the small village of Baringo. Tergat’s severe circumstances were eased by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) beginning in the late 1970s. Tergat was eight years old when the WFP started giving free lunches to kids in schools. Tergat told the Christian Science Monitor, an international news organization, that the guaranteed daily lunch eased a great load, allowing him and his buddies to focus on their studies. Tergat finished his studies and was inducted into the Kenyan Air Force in 1990.