Samwel Mailu

Samwel Mailu
Personal information
Birth nameSamwel Nyamai Mailu
NationalityKenya
Born (1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 (age 31)
Sport
SportAthletics
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)1500m: 3:54.86 (Nairobi, 2022)
5000m: 14:24.50 (Nairobi, 2022)
10,000m: 29:58.33 (Nairobi, 2022)
Half marathon: 59:19 (Riga, 2023)
Marathon: 2:05:08 (Vienna, 2023)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Kenya
World Road Running Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Riga Half marathon

Samwel Nyamai Mailu (born 7 February 1993) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He won a bronze medal in the half marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga.[1]

Early life

Mailu grew up the son of vegetable farmers, one of five children, in a village called Ulawani, not far from the Kenya-Tanzania border and Mount Kilimanjaro, although he himself did not live at high altitude. He only started to train at fifteen years-old and stopped running until later in life after completing a college course to become a primary school teacher. He started training seriously in 2020, and moved to a training camp in Machakos, southeast of Nairobi.[2]

Career

In June 2022, Mailu won the Hamburg half-marathon with a time of 1:01:52 despite bad weather conditions.[3] Later that year Mailu finished as runner-up at the Frankfurt Marathon running 2:07.19 despite initially only starting the race in the role of pacemaker. He had never completed a competitive marathon before.[4][5]

Mailu set a new course record and personal best time of 2:05.08 to win the Vienna Marathon in April 2023.[6][7] In June 2023, Mailu successfully defended his Hamburg half-marathon title.[8]

Mailu was part of a Kenyan clean-sweep of the medals, alongside Sabastian Sawe and Daniel Simiu Ebenyo in the half-marathon during the World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia on 1 October 2023. It meant Kenya also comfortably claimed the team title at the event.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Samwel Mailu". World Athletics. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  2. ^ "After Vienna course record Samwel Mailu pledges to help Kenyan talents". Watch Athletics. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  3. ^ Wafula, Abigael (25 June 2023). "Defending champion Samwel Mailu returns to Hamburg in search of successive victories". Retrieved 3 October 2023. l
  4. ^ Kelsall, Cristopher (25 July 2023). "Frankfurt Marathon: European silver medallist Matea Parlov Kostro and Kenyan Samwel Mailu to toe the line". Athletics Illistrated. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  5. ^ Wenig, Jörg (23 April 2023). "Samwel Mailu crowns his anniversary with a course record, Sebastian Hendel ninth". Leichtatgletik.de. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Vienna City Marathon my biggest career win - Mailu". The-Star.co.ke. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Kenyans shine in Vienna, Hamburg Marathons". Nation.Africa. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  8. ^ Wafula, Abigael (25 June 2023). "Samwel Mailu leads Kenyan 1-2-3 sweep as he successfully defends Hamburg 21k title". Pulse Sports. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Confidence and good race tactics were key, says Sawe after Riga sweep". The-Star.co.ke. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.