Dennis Kimetto
Kimetto (right) at the 2012 Berlin Marathon
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Born | 22 January 1984 |
| Height | 171 cm (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 55 kg (121 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |
 Kenya
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| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Long-distance running |
Dennis Kipruto Kimetto or Dennis Kipruto Koech (born 22 January 1984) is a Kenyan long distance runner who competes in road running events. He is the world record holder at the marathon and the 25 km road distance.
Hailing from Eldoret and part of a training group including Geoffrey Mutai, Kimetto's first major win came in the half marathon section of the Nairobi Marathon in 2011. Running as Dennis Koech, he topped the podium in a time of 1:01:30. He quickly rose into the global running elite in his first outings outside of Kenya. At the RAK Half Marathon he defeated a field including Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich to win the race in 60:40 minutes. His age was misreported as ten years younger, and his following run of 59:14 minutes to win the Berlin Half Marathon in April was briefly considered a world junior best. An erroneous passport was the cause of both the age difference and the Koech misnomer, his surname actually being Kimetto. This was rectified in later competitions.
With Kimetto's personal data corrected, he went on to break his first major record at the BIG 25 Berlin. His time of 71:18 minutes at that race knocked a sizeable margin off Sammy Kosgei's world record of 71:50. After this he made the fastest marathon debut in history. Again running in Berlin, he ran alongside training partner Geoffrey Mutai for much of the 2012 Berlin Marathon. He recorded a time of 2:04:16, one second behind Mutai, to set the fifth fastest ever run at that point. Some reporters observed that Kimetto stayed solidly behind the more prominent Mutai in the final section of the race and concluded that he allowed his partner to take the victory.
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