The Baringo born Paul Kibii Tergat is a former Kenyan long distance runner. His record of 2:04.55 which he made in 2003, and was only broken in 2007. He focused mainly on 10,000m marathon; on the track, the road and cross country. Paul and his wife Monica are blessed with four children.
Here are some facts you don’t know about Tergat.
10. He studied at Riwo Primary School and Kapkawa Boys Secondary school. He only realized that he was a talented athlete after high school.
9. His unrelenting competitor in global stage was the Ethiopian Haile Gabrselasie, in fact its Haila that broke his world record in 2007.
8. His worst performance in global stage was in 2004 Athens Olympic marathon. He finished at the tenth position due to stomach cramps for drinking cold water provided by the organizers.
7. He founded and established the Baringo Half Marathon in 2001. The marathon aims to unearth and nurture young talents from the region.
6. He was the first male Kenyan athlete to be awarded Abebe Bakila Award by New York Road Runners in 2010. This was in recognition to his achievements in athletics.
5. He is the global ambassador for world food program. The position he has used to advocate for WFP School Meal program.
4. He is the founder of Paul Tergat foundation, a non organization that advocates for eradication of poverty and provision of humanitarian support to those affected by disasters such as hunger and drought.
3. He served as a captain for the Kenya Air force wing for the Kenya military. He is one of the athletes from the discipline forces.
2. He is the first Kenyan to win IAAF world cross country championship titles in five consecutive years; from 1995-1999.
1. Apart from athletics, Tergat is also plays basket ball and a volley ball.
By Felix Vincent .O
