Career
His victory in Stuttgart in 1993 was especially impressive as he was only aged eighteen and led the race from the front for most of the second half. On the final straight he shrugged off an attack from Haile Gebreselassie. His winning time of 13:02.75 minutes was a new World Championships record.
The same year he broke the World junior record in 5000 metres in Zurich by running 13:06.50
Ismael Kirui is the younger brother of Richard Chelimo.
His first victory in 33:42 set a world road record in that event.