Paul Chelimo

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo
10,000 m: 27:12.73 (London 2023)
  • Half marathon: 62:19 (New York
    • 2019)
    Medal record
    Men's athletics
    Representing  United States
    Olympic Games
    Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 5000 m
    Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 5000 m
    World Championships
    Bronze medal – third place 2017 London 5000 m
    Representing Americas
    Continental Cup
    Gold medal – first place 2018 Ostrava 3000 m
    Chelimo finishing runner-up in the men's 5,000 m at the 2016 Olympic Games

    Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo (born October 27, 1990) is a Kenyan born American

    track and field athlete. He is the 2016 Olympic silver medalist and the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist in the 5000 meters
    . He qualified for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the 5000m finishing in 15th place in a time of 13:30.88.

    Career

    Born and brought up in Kenya, Chelimo initially went to the US in 2010 to run for

    NAIA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship as Chelimo won the 5000 meters and 10000 meters at the championships. He transferred to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, taking 2nd place in the 2012 NCAA Championships 5000 meters and repeated the place in 2013.[2]

    Chelimo found his path to US citizenship by joining the United States Army through the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program as a water treatment specialist, then entering their World Class Athletic Program in 2014.[3]

    He represented the United States in the

    3000 meters at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships held in Portland, Oregon. He qualified to the World Championships by taking second place at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships on the same track a week earlier, setting a personal record of 7:39.00.[4]

    Later in 2016, he finished third in the

    Olympic Trials. Running aggressively, Chelimo was the first to cover an early breakaway, which was eventually swallowed by another breakaway by previous trials winner Galen Rupp. Again, Chelimo led the last lap charge to run down Rupp, and after catching him, Chelimo held the lead onto the final straightaway. Chelimo was eventually run down by the sprint finish of 41-year-old Kenyan American Bernard Lagat, followed closely by Hassan Mead. But Chelimo was able to hold his position to the finish, beating Eric Jenkins to the line by 0.06 of a second and qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[1]

    2016 Olympics

    Chelimo ran a personal best 13:19.54 in the prelim of the

    The United States appealed and the medal was reinstated, with Edris, the initiator of the contact remaining disqualified.[5] He set a new personal best of 13:03.90 in the race. Chelimo's medal was the first for the US in the event since Bob Schul and Bill Dellinger in the 1964 Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo.[6]

    2017 World Championships

    Now an American star, he won the National Championships by seven seconds in record time. At the World Championships, it was a set of familiar faces on the last lap. This time though, Edris and his teammate Yomif Kejelcha got the jump on Farah and Chelimo going in to the final lap and Chelimo was running virtually even with Farah. In their pursuit of eventual winner Edris, both had to weave around Kejelcha then sprint for the line. In his last championship track race, Farah again beat Chelimo across the line, but this time it was much closer, barely a half meter separating the two, Chelimo getting bronze.

    2018 USA Championships and London Diamond League

    Chelimo participated in the 3000m of the

    London Diamond League also at the 5000m distance.[10]

    2021 Tokyo Olympics

    Chelimo won his third U.S. outdoor title in the 5000m in a dramatic three-man sprint finish where he controversially drifted to lane four to prevent his competitors from overtaking him.

    Tokyo 2020 Olympic 5000m. Chelimo dedicated the performance to his brother, who suddenly passed away earlier in the year.[12]

    2023 World Championships

    After his success in 2021 and relatively poor season in 2022, where he finished only 11th in the U.S. Championships 5000m, Chelimo once again qualified for the World Championships with his second place finish in the U.S. Championships. He also competed in the 10,000m, in which, he placed fifth. At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Chelimo placed 15th in the 5000m.

    Major competitions

    Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
    Representing  United States
    2016
    U.S. Olympic Trials
    		 Eugene, Oregon 3rd 5000 m
    13:35.92
    Olympic Games
    Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
    		 2nd 5000 m 13:03.90
    2017 World Championships
    London, United Kingdom
    		 3rd 5000 m 13:33.30
    2019 World Championships
    Doha, Qatar
    		 7th 5000 m 13:04.60
    2021
    U.S. Olympic Trials
    		 Eugene, Oregon 1st 5000 m 13:26.82
    Olympic Games
    Tokyo, Japan
    		 3rd 5000 m 12:59.05
    2023 World Championships
    Budapest, Hungary
    		 15th 5000 m 13:30.88

    References

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo.
    1. ^ a b "Athlete Profile - Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo". rio2016.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
    2. ^ "UNCG Men's Cross Country BIO - Paul Chelimo". UNCG Athletics. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
    3. ^ Wooten, Eddie (May 1, 2014). "Paul Chelimo to enter U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
    4. ^ "2016 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships – Day 1 Results". Usatf.org. March 11, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
    5. ^ "U.S. 5000m Silver Medalist Disqualified, Then Reinstated". NBC New York. August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
    6. ^ Kehaug, Andrew (August 20, 2016). "Mo Farah Lands a Double-Double, Winning Gold in 5,000". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
    7. ^ "Results". results.usatf.org. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
    8. ^ "Are The British Officials Playing Favorites At IAAF World Championships?". Retrieved April 27, 2018.
    9. ^ "USATF Men's 5000 — Chelimo Continues American Dominance". Retrieved January 31, 2024.
    10. ^ "Paul Chelimo Uses Tokyo Drift to Win Olympic Trials 5,000m Title". Retrieved January 31, 2024.
    11. ^ "USATF Men's 5000 — Chelimo Continues American Dominance". Retrieved January 31, 2024.
    12. ^ "Team USA's Paul Chelimo Dives Across Finish Line for Bronze in Men's 5,000 Meters". Retrieved January 31, 2024.

    External links

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Chelimo&oldid=1215486480"