Ferguson Rotich

Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich
Rotich in 2014
Personal information
NationalityKenyan
Born (1989-11-30) 30 November 1989 (age 35)
Kericho, Kenya
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
CountryKenya
SportTrack
Event800 metres
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Kenya Kenya
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo 800 m
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Doha 800 m
IAAF World Relays
Gold medal – first place 2014 Nassau 4×800 m relay

Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich (born 30 November 1989) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who competes in the 800 metres. He has a personal best of 1:42.54 minutes for the event. He represented Kenya at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics and was a gold medallist in the 4×800 metres relay at the 2014 IAAF World Relays. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won the silver medal, finishing behind his countryman Emmanuel Korir.

Career

A relative late-comer to the sport, he made his first impact in the 2013 season at the age of 23. He won the 800 m at the Meeting Grand Prix IAAF de Dakar, setting a personal best of 1:45.40 minutes.[1] In his first race in Europe, he went under one minute and 45 seconds for the first time to take fourth at the Golden Spike Ostrava.[2] He placed a narrow second to Anthony Chemut at the Kenyan trials in July, improving further to 1:44.38 minutes.[3] This led to his selection for the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.[4] At the competition, he progressed to the semi-final and initially placed fifth but was disqualified for a lane infringement.[5] He ended the year with two performances on the 2013 IAAF Diamond League circuit, coming third at both the Weltklasse Zürich and the Memorial Van Damme.[6] The latter race was the fastest in the year, and Rotich's time of 1:43.22 minutes ranked him as the third fastest in the world that season,[7] making it a rapid rise for the athlete who was unranked in 2012.[8]

At the first meet of the 2014 IAAF Diamond League in Doha, he came third.[9] He was chosen for the 4×800 metres relay team (alongside Sammy Kibet Kirongo, Job Koech Kinyor and Alfred Kipketer) at the inaugural 2014 IAAF World Relays event and leading off for Kenya he helped the team to the gold medal.[10]

At the 2015 Athletics Kenya World Championship Trials, Rotich shocked world record holder David Rudisha in the 800 metres, beating him by almost half a second to qualify for the 2015 World Championships in Athletics.

International competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2013 World Championships Moscow, Russia 2nd (h) 800 m 1:45.25[11]
2014 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 1st 4 × 800 m relay 7:08.40
Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 4th 800 m 1:46.09
African Championships Marrakech, Morocco 4th 800 m 1:49.10
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 4th 800 m 1:46.35
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 5th 800 m 1:43.55
2017 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 2nd 4 × 800 m relay 7:13.70
World Championships London, United Kingdom 15th (sf) 800 m 1:46.49
2018 African Championships Asaba, Nigeria 5th 800 m 1:46.33
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 3rd 800 m 1:43.82
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 2nd 800 m 1:45.23
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 24th (h) 800 m 1:46.53

References

  1. ^ Minshull, Phil (13 June 2013). Ayana, Caceres and Stuart produce top marks in Dakar – IAAF World Challenge . IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-05-31.
  2. ^ Mulkeen, Jon (27 June 2013). World lead by Adams, five meeting records broken in Ostrava – IAAF World Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-05-31.
  3. ^ Mutuota, Mutwiri (14 July 2013). Javelin star Julius Yego steals the show at Kenyan trials. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-05-31.
  4. ^ World champions Kiprop, Kiplagat and Kemboi lead Kenyan team for Moscow. IAAF (15 July 2013). Retrieved on 2014-05-31.
  5. ^ 2013 World Championships Men's 1500 metres semi-final. IAAF. Retrieved on 31 May 2014.
  6. ^ Mulkeen, Jon (6 September 2013). Fraser-Pryce leads Jamaican sprint triple in Brussels – IAAF Diamond League. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-05-31.
  7. ^ 800 Metres – men – senior – outdoor – 2013. IAAF. Retrieved on 31 May 2014.
  8. ^ Jalava, Mirko (1 January 2014). 2013 end-of-year reviews – middle distance. IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-05-31.
  9. ^ Ferguson Cheruiyot. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 31 May 2014.
  10. ^ Report: Men's 4x800m – Nassau 2014. IAAF (24 May 2014). Retrieved on 2014-05-31.
  11. ^ Disqualified in the semi-finals
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ferguson Rotich.