Career
He has a personal best of 3:27.64 minutes, which makes him the fourth fastest of all-time over the distance. Born in Siboh Village, Marakwet District, he started training in seriousness for competitive running in 2008 after completing Chebara high school in Marakwet district. He initially wanted to follow Kitwara into longer distances, but Kiptanui recognised his speed and urged him to try shorter events instead.
He tried his hand at cross country running and was seventeenth at the Kenyan National Cross Country Championships.
An appearance at the World"s Best 10K in Puerto Rico saw him finish in tenth place. Italian coach Renato Canova assisting him technically introduced him to the Italian manager Gianni Demadonna that signed him up, gaining him a place in the 1500 m at the Herculis meeting in Monaco.
His European debut marked a meteoric arrival onto the elite athletics scene – not only did he outrun more experienced runners such as Amine Laâlou and Augustine Choge, but he improved his personal best time by five seconds of 3:29.27 and raised himself into the top ten fastest runners ever for the event. He gained selection for the event at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics and he just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth behind Mekonnen Gebremedhin.