Uasin Gishu and North Rift residents at large have always been proud of Vivian Cheruiyot who was born and raised in the area.
Cheruiyot has put the region on the world map on uncountable occasions.
She is not just an athlete but a skilful, passionate and dedicated long-distance runner who still poses a threat to many of her competitors.
She holds the Kenyan record and Commonwealth record for the 5000 metres with her best time of 14:20.89, which was set at the DN Galan in 2011.
Cheruiyot has taken part in four editions of the famous Olympic games (2000, 2008, 2012 and 2016) and also participated in scores of other major global events.
Personally, I commenced following her when I was a young boy. There are a lot of races she has won throughout her career. However, I have singled out the three hottest and thrilling races that made the world to adore her and increased her fame.
a) 5000m final at the 2016 Olympic games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
This is a race that had eagerly been awaited by athletic fans across the world. Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana was the favourite and the whole world including me thought she was going to easily win the race.
Ayana had defeated Cheruiyot in the hits prior to this final race, and also she had defeated her in the 10000m race.
The Ethiopian took the lead with eight laps remaining and had a 25-meters gap ahead of Cheruiyot. She however hanged on and with three laps to go, Cheruiyot skillfully ran past Ayana at a cheetah’s pace. She went on to take the gold in style breaking the Olympic record in a time of 14: 26.17.
This was also Kenya’s first ever gold medal in the race.
b) 10000m final at the 2015 IAAF world championships inside the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, China
This is a race that Vivian Cheruiyot looked weak from the start. Little did people know that it was just her tactics.
She ran behind a pack of nine athletes until the last lap. Even the majority of her fans had given up. With only 50 meters left, she sprang past the leading pack and within a twinkle of an eye, she took the gold medal.
c) World Cross Country Championships at the Sporting Complex in Vilamoura, Portugal, on March 18, 2000.
She was only 17 and looked naïve.In fact, she was running barefoot since she had not yet got used to running with shoes. No one imagined she could win a medal here.
It took her twenty minutes and 34 seconds to take the gold. She beat senior Kenyans Alice Timbilil and Viola Kibiwott.
This is a race that brought Cheruiyot's name on the world athletics map.
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