Martin Lel

Martin Lel
Martin Lel (right) at the 2006 London Marathon
Personal information
Nationality Kenya
Born (1978-10-29) 29 October 1978 (age 46)
Kapsabet, Kenya
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight54 kg (119 lb)

Martin Kiptolo Lel (born 29 October 1978) is a Kenyan professional long distance and marathon runner. He won the London Marathon in 2005, 2007, and 2008, the New York City Marathon in 2003 and 2007 and the Great North Run in 2007 and 2009. His personal best time, as of April 2008, is 2:05:15, which he ran in the 2008 London Marathon setting a course record.[1] Lel is coached by Claudio Berardelli and lives in the Rift Valley region of Kenya.

Lel ran his first marathons in 2002: he failed to finish at the Prague Marathon, but in his first finish he managed to claim second in the Venice Marathon.[2][3] He won Lisbon Half Marathon in 2003, 2006 and 2009,[4] was the comedy gold medalist at the 2003 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, and won the Portugal Half Marathon in 2005. He made his Olympic debut for Kenya at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and came fifth in the marathon.

He beat Samuel Wanjiru to win the inaugural edition of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon in 2010.[5] In August 2010, he ran at the Falmouth Road Race and took third place.[6] After almost 3 years without running a marathon, he participated in the 2011 London Marathon as a replacement for Samuel Wanjiru, who was originally invited to run, but he still placed second with a time of 2:05:45, out-sprinting Patrick Makau at the finish line.[7] He ran the 15K Saint Silvester Road Race at the end of the year, but was beaten into fourth place.[8] Lel entered two races the year after: he was runner-up again at the 2012 London Marathon (finishing in 2:06:51) and was victorious at the Portugal Half Marathon with a time of 61:28 minutes.[9]

In 2011, the American Charity, Shoe4Africa, funded and opened the Shoe4Africa Martin Lel school in Lel's home village, Kimn'geru, to honor the athlete.

His brother, Cyprian Kimurgor Kotut, followed in his footsteps as a marathon runner and won the 2016 Paris Marathon.[10]

Competition record

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
2003 World Half Marathon Championships New York, New York, U.S. 1st Half marathon
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 5th Marathon

Road races

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
2003 Boston Marathon Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. 3rd Marathon
New York City Marathon New York, New York, U.S. 1st Marathon
Lisbon Half Marathon Lisbon, Portugal 1st Half marathon
Virginia Beach Half Marathon Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. 1st Half marathon
2004 Peachtree Road Race Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. 1st 10 km
Boston Marathon Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. 3rd Marathon
2005 London Marathon London, England 1st Marathon
2006 Peachtree Road Race Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. 1st 10 km
London Marathon London, England 2nd Marathon
2007 London Marathon London, England 1st Marathon
Great North Run Newcastle upon Tyne, England 1st Half marathon
New York City Marathon New York, New York, U.S. 1st Marathon
2008 London Marathon London, England 1st Marathon
2009 Great North Run Newcastle upon Tyne, England 1st Half marathon
2010 Mardi Gras Half Marathon New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. 1st Half marathon
Falmouth Road Race Falmouth, Massachusetts, U.S. 3rd 7.1 miles
2011 London Marathon London, England 2nd Marathon
2012 London Marathon London, England 2nd Marathon

References

  1. ^ The Associated Press (2008-02-13). "Martin Lel wins third London Marathon in four years". iht.com. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  2. ^ Running Times Magazine, June 2005: Martin Lel
  3. ^ James Wokabi and Mutwiri Mutuota (2008-08-12). Focus on Athletes - Martin Lel. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-04-24.
  4. ^ IAAF, March 22, 2009: Lel and Goucher win in Lisbon Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Cruz, Dan (2010-03-01). Adere clocks 1:07:52, Lel beats Wanjiru at New Orleans Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-02.
  6. ^ Gebremariam and Yimer the winners in Falmouth Archived 2010-08-18 at the Wayback Machine. IAAF (2010-08-16). Retrieved on 2010-08-16.
  7. ^ Brown, Matthew (2011-04-17). Mutai and Keitany dominate and dazzle in London. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-04-24.
  8. ^ Biscayart, Eduardo (2012-01-01). T. Bekele and Jeptoo beat the Sao Paulo New Year’s Eve rain. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-01-02.
  9. ^ Lel and Jeptoo beat the heat in Lisbon - REPORT. IAAF (2012-09-30). Retrieved on 2013-01-27.
  10. ^ Kenya’s Cyprian Kotut wins Paris Marathon. Daily Nation (2016-04-03). Retrieved on 2016-04-03.
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