Wesley Korir
|
Hon. Wesley Korir |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the Kenyan Parliament | |
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Assumed office 28 March 2013 |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |
 Kenya
|
| Born |
15 November 1982 Kitale, Trans-Nzoia District, Kenya |
| Residence |
Kenya,  United States
|
| Sport | |
| Country |
Kenya
|
| Event(s) | 1500 m, 5000 m, 10000 m, Marathon |
| College team | Murray State University, University of Louisville |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) |
Half marathon: 1:01:19 Chicago Marathon: 2:06:13 |
Wesley Korir (born 15 November 1982, in Kitale, Trans-Nzoia District) is a Kenyan elected Member of Parliament for Cherangany Constituency (4 March 2013 elections) and a long distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. On 16 April 2012, he won the Boston Marathon with a time of 2 hours 12 minutes 40 seconds. He had previously won the Los Angeles Marathon in 2009 and 2010, the first back-to-back winner there in eight years. He took second place in the 2011 Chicago Marathon in a personal-record time of 2 hours 6 minutes 15 seconds, and improved that personal record by 2 seconds in the 2012 Chicago Marathon. In March 2013, Korir was elected to a seat in the Kenyan National Assembly.
When Korir was young, he would run 5 miles (8 km) each way to school, often running back for lunch or to do errands for his mother. However, he never ran competitively until after high school. Fellow Kenyan Paul Ereng, a 1988 Olympic gold medalist from the same hometown as Korir, used his contacts among college coaches in the United States to find Korir a spot at Murray State University in Kentucky. He recalled in 2013 that when he first left for the U.S., he never expected to return to his homeland:
I remember telling God, Hallelujah. I've left the poverty land. I'm going to the land of riches. In my heart and head, I never thought I would go back.
He would win both the 5000 m and 10000 m at the Ohio Valley Conference championships in 2004, but was forced to find a new school when Murray State dropped its men's track and cross country programs. Ereng put him in touch with University of Louisville track coach Ron Mann, and Korir transferred there. Korir would go on to set school records there in the outdoor 1500 m and 5000 m and the indoor mile, 3000 m and 5000 m. He would also earn All-American honors multiple times. He finished 3rd at the 2007 NCAA National Outdoor Track and Field Champions in the 5000 meter race and finished 12th in the fall of 2007 at the NCAA National Cross-Country Championships.
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