Bernard Lagat

Bernard Lagat
Personal information
Full name Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat
Born 12 December 1974 (1974-12-12) (age 41)
Kapsabet, Kenya
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Kenya
Olympic Games
2004 Athens 1500 m
2000 Sydney 1500 m
World Championships
2001 Edmonton 1500 m
World Cup
2002 Madrid 1500 m
World Indoor Championships
2004 Budapest 3000 m
2003 Birmingham 1500 m
Representing  United States
World Championships
2007 Osaka 1500 m
2007 Osaka 5000 m
2009 Berlin 5000 m
2011 Daegu 5000 m
2009 Berlin 1500 m
World Indoor Championships
2010 Doha 3000 m
2012 Istanbul 3000 m
2014 Sopot 3000 m
Representing Americas
Continental Cup
2010 Split 3000 m
2010 Split 5000 m
2014 Marrakech 3000 m

Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat (born 12 December 1974) is a Kenyan-American middle and long-distance runner.

Lagat was born in Kapsabet, Kenya. Prior to his change of domicile to the USA, Lagat had an extensive competitive career representing his native country.

He is the American record holder in the 1500 m and mile run indoors, as well as the 1500 m, 3000 m, and 5000 m outdoors, and is the Kenyan record holder at 1500 m outdoors (the second best 1500 m of all time).

Lagat is a thirteen-time medalist in World Championships and Olympics including five gold medals.

Early life

Lagat, now a Kenyan American, was born in Kaptel village, near Kapsabet town in Nandi District. He is a Nandi, sub-tribe of the Kalenjin people.

He graduated from the Kaptel High School in 1994, where he had started his athletics career. He joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi 1996. Later in the same year he moved to Washington State University where other Kenyan athletic greats such as Henry Rono and Michael Kosgei prospered.

In 1998, while at WSU, Lagat won three NCAA individual championships; indoor mile and 3000m, as well as the 5000m outdoors.

In 2000, Lagat graduated from Washington State University with a degree in management information systems.

A large number of Lagat's siblings have also competed in athletics; his older sister Mary Chepkemboi won the 3000 m at the 1984 African Championships in Athletics.[1] Lagat's younger brother, Robert Cheseret, is a multi-time Pac-10 champion runner for the University of Arizona. Violah Lagat,[2] younger sister, graduated from Florida State University and Central Arizona College as a nursing major was a 3 time NCAA all-American[3][4] and now runs the mile for Adidas.

Representing Kenya (2000–2004)

Lagat first represented his native Kenya at 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.[5] Using team tactics, Lagat and Kenyan team mate Noah Ngeny kept heavy favorite Hicham El Guerrouj from winning gold. In a very close finish, Ngeny took gold, El Guerrouj won Silver, and Lagat captured bronze. Lagat finished the year being ranked #3 in the world at 1500m.

The next summer, Lagat won the silver medal, behind El Guerrouj, at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, and later that summer, at a meeting in Brussels Lagat set the Kenyan National Record and became the second fastest individual ever at 1500m when he ran 3:26.34, finishing second in this race behind Hicham El Guerrouj (3:26.13), in what was a failed attempt to break El Guerrouj's own world record of 3:26.00. Lagat finished the year being ranked #2 in the world at 1500m.

Lagat spent most of 2002 and 2003 chasing El Guerrouj. At the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships he earned the silver medal at 1500m, this time behind Driss Maazouzi of France. Lagat withdrew from the 2003 world outdoor championships after a blood test showed traces of EPO in his system. His B sample test came back negative, clearing him of any charges. He was ranked 2nd and 4th in the world at 1500m in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

In the 3000m at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships Lagat won his first international gold medal. Lagat was clearly overjoyed at his comeback since 2003. Throughout the spring he competed fiercely and beat his rival El Guerrouj in Zurich with a world leading time at 1500m of 3:27.40. At the 2004 Summer Olympics Lagat seemed poised to once again defeat El Guerrouj. The final was a very dramatic race, with Lagat and El Guerrouj battling down the final 100m, swapping the lead multiple times. It was El Guerrouj that prevailed, with Lagat close behind, earning the silver medal, running the final lap in under 52 seconds. He was however ranked #1 in the world at 1500m for the year.

Representing United States (2005-present)

Beginning of American career

In March 2005, Lagat announced that he had become a naturalized citizen of the United States since May 7, 2004, despite competing for Kenya in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Since Kenya does not allow dual citizenship his silver medal in the 1500 m was at stake, but in the end he was allowed to retain it. Because of this switch of nationality, Lagat served a ban from international championship events. For this reason he missed the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki. A similar switch of nationality, in this case Kenyan to Danish, caused Wilson Kipketer to miss the 1996 Olympic Games. Today, Lagat lives in Tucson AZ and Tübingen (Germany) with his wife Gladys Tom (a Canadian of Chinese descent),[6] whom he met while they both attended Washington State University,[7][8] and their son Miika Kimutai (born in 2006) and daughter Gianna (born 2008).[9]

The U.S. does allow dual citizenship and consequently races run by Lagat after May 7, 2004 could have been ratified as American records, since USATF rules only state that an athlete has to be a U.S. citizen competing in a sanctioned competition to be eligible to set a national record. However, at the 2005 USATF annual meeting, his 3:27.40 win in the 1500 meters, on August 6, 2004, in Zurich, was not ratified as an American record.

Nevertheless, Lagat owns three American records from races he had run in 2005 that were ratified by USATF. His first American records came indoors, with a 3:49.89 mile at Fayetteville, Arkansas, on February 11, 2005, during which his 1500 meters split time of 3:33.34 also established another new U.S. record, en route to a win in the event. The performance replaced records by Steve Scott, who set the previous American indoor mile record of 3:51.8 in 1981, and the previous American 1500 meter indoor record held by Jeff Atkinson, who ran 3:38.12 in 1989. Lagat's winning time of 3:29.40 at Rieti, Italy, on August 28, 2005, in the outdoor 1500 meters was ratified as his third new American record, improving upon the old record of 3:29.77, set by Sydney Maree in 1985.

Double world champion

At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Lagat surpassed all his previous achievements by becoming the first athlete to become world champion in both the 1,500 m and 5,000 m at the same IAAF World Outdoor Championships. Similar feats were accomplished by Hicham El Guerrouj at the 2004 Olympics and Paavo Nurmi at the 1924 Olympics.[10][11]

2008 Olympics and 2009 Worlds

Bernard Lagat at the 2009 World Championships

In 2008, Lagat won both 1500 m[12][13] and 5000 m[14] runs at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, qualifying himself to compete with Team USA at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.[15] Hopes were high that his success in both these events would continue at the Olympics.[16][17] However, Lagat failed to advance beyond the semi-finals in the 1500m run.[18][19][20] He was more successful in the 5000 m run, winning his semi-final heat to advance,[21][22] but ultimately did not medal, running to ninth-place finish in the finals.[23]

Lagat had concealed the fact that he was running with an injured Achilles tendon, a problem which hampered his training and contributed to his poor showing at the Olympics. He stated that his placings at the 2008 Beijing Games were "the biggest disappointment in my athletics career". The following season, he began with high altitude training in Flagstaff, Arizona.[24] After tying Eamonn Coghlan's record of seven wins in the Wanamaker Mile at the 2009 Millrose Games in New York, Lagat broke Coghlan's record with an 8th win at Millrose in 2010.[25] As the reigning world champion in the 1500 and 5000 meters, he automatically received qualification in the events at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and set his sights on retaining his titles. Despite being much older than some of his competitors, Lagat's desire to win had not faded and he said "I am more motivated than ever to go to the podium in Berlin".[24] Lagat ultimately won the bronze medal in the 1500m and the silver medal in the 5000 m.

2010 to present

On February 6, 2010, Lagat set a new American record in his debut of the indoor 5000 meters at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games with a time of 13:11.50, beating previous record holder Galen Rupp who had set the record at 13:18.12 in 2009.[26] On June 4, 2010, Lagat broke the American Record for 5000m with 12:54.12 at the Bislett Games in Oslo.[27] Yet another area record came at the Rieti IAAF Grand Prix in August: chasing down Tariku Bekele in the 3000 m, he took second place with an American record of 7:29.00 – his first sub-7:30 minute time.

In July he broke his own 5000 m American record at the Monaco Diamond League meet by running 12:53.60 to finish a close second behind Mo Farah who set the British 5000m record in this race in a time of 12:53.11.[28][29][30] At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, the 5000 m final came down to a sprint finish and Lagat was beaten in the last straight by Mo Farah, leaving Lagat with his second consecutive silver medal at the world event.

At the 2012 Millrose Games, held for the first time at the Armory Track & Field Center, Lagat ran an American indoor record over 5000 m with a time of 13:07.15 minutes.[31] At the 2012 Olympics in London, Lagat finished fourth in the 5000 m race, crossing the line 1.33 seconds behind the leader, Mo Farah, after being tripped up when he was going into his kick by Isiah Kiplangat Koech.[32] Lagat was runner-up behind Matthew Centrowitz, Jr. at the Fifth Avenue Mile that year.[33]

On February 22, 2014, Lagat earned his 4th USATF Indoor 3000 meters title.[34][35] On June 27 Bernard Lagat, At Age 39, won his seventh USA men’s 5,000 title.[36]

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Kenya
1999 Universiade Palma de Mallorca, Spain 1st 1500 m 3:40.99
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 3rd 1500 m 3:32.44
2001 World Indoor Championships Lisbon, Portugal 6th 3000 m 7:45.52
World Championships Edmonton, Canada 2nd 1500 m 3:31.10
2002 World Cup Madrid, Spain 1st 1500 m 3:31.20
African Championships Radès, Tunisia 1st 1500 m 3:38.11
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 2nd 1500 m 3:42.62
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st 3000 m 7:56.34
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 2nd 1500 m 3:34.30
Representing  United States
2007 World Championships Osaka, Japan 1st 1500 m 3:34.77
1st 5000 m 13:45.87
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 9th 5000 m 13:26.89
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 3rd 1500 m 3:36.20
2nd 5000 m 13:17.33
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 1st 3000 m 7:37.97
Continental Cup Split, Croatia 1st 3000 m 7:54.75
1st 5000 m 13:58.23
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 2nd 5000 m 13:23.64
2012 World Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 1st 3000 m 7:41.44
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 4th 5000 m 13:42.99
2013 World Championships Moscow, Russia 6th 5000 m 13:29.24
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 2nd 3000 m 7:55.22

Statistics

Personal bests

Distance Mark Date Location Notes
1500 metres 3:26.34 NR August 24, 2001 Brussels Lagat's 1500 m PB is the Kenyan National Record. After becoming
an American citizen, Lagat set an American record in the 1500 m of 3:29.30.
Mile 3:47.28 June 29, 2001 Rome
Mile (indoor) AR 3:49.89 February 14, 2008 Boston
3000 metres 7:29.00 AR August 28, 2010 Rieti
Two miles (indoor) 8:09.49 Feb 16, 2013 New York This was the North American AR until broken by Galen Rupp in January 2014
5000 metres 12:53.60 AR July 22, 2011 Monaco
10000 metres 27:49.36 May 1, 2016 Palo Alto This is the Masters A40 WR

Records

American records
Season Indoor Outdoor
Event Time Time
1500 m 3:33.34 3:29.30
Mile 3:49.89  
3000 m   7:29.00
5000 m 12:53.60

References

  1. ↑ Powell, David (2009-08-02). With family as inspiration, Lagat ready to pursue elusive Olympic gold. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.
  2. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKuTw9gpnu8
  3. ↑ http://www.tfrrs.org/athletes/3287365.html
  4. ↑ http://www.seminoles.com/sports/c-track/mtt/lagat_violah00.html
  5. ↑ Bernard Lagat (Profile). USATF. 2008-08-18
  6. ↑ "A Runner Dreams of Gold Under a New Flag". The New York Times, 2008-03-25.
  7. ↑ ESPN The Magazine: "For love of country". ESPN.com, 2007-08-02.
  8. ↑ "Sports: Bernard Lagat comes home". Washington State Magazine, 2008-02-01.
  9. ↑ "Kenyan-Born Runner Boosts U.S. Olympic Hopes". NPR, 2008-06-23.
  10. ↑ El Guerrouj wins historic gold. BBC Sport. 2004-08-28
  11. ↑ With historic double, Lagat joins illustrious company. IAAF.org. 2007-09-02
  12. ↑ U.S. 2008 Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field – Men's 1500m Results. USATF. 2008-07-06
  13. ↑ Lagat wins 1,500m at U.S. Olympic trials. CBC Sports. 2008-07-07
  14. ↑ U.S. 2008 Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field – Men's 5000m Results. USATF. 2008-06-30
  15. ↑ Stuczynski breaks AR; hurdlers impress as Olympic Trials conclude: Lagat completes double. USATF. 2008-07-06
  16. ↑ Lagat cautiously optimistic as double ambitions begin. IAAF. 2008-08-14
  17. ↑ Lagat eyes double. The Oregonian. 2008-08-13
  18. ↑ After a disappointment in 1,500, Lagat moves on in Olympic 5,000 meters. The Los Angeles Times. 2008-08-20
  19. ↑ Lagat fails to make Olympic 1,500 final. The Arizona Republic. 2008-08-17
  20. ↑ Lagat, Americans out after 1500m semis. NBC Olympics. 2008-08-17
  21. ↑ Lagat wins 5K heat, advances to Saturday final. The Associated Press. 2008-08-20
  22. ↑ Lagat rebounds in 5,000 meters. The Arizona Republic. 2008-08-20
  23. ↑ Bekele wins 5,000, completes distance double. The Associated Press. 2008-08-23
  24. 1 2 Gains, Paul (2009-08-12). Lagat aims at defending precious World Champs double. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-13.
  25. ↑ Robinson, Joshua (January 31, 2009). Lagat Wins Mile at Millrose, Tying Coghlan’s Record. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-08-13.
  26. ↑ "Lagat sets American indoor record for 5,000 meters". The Washington Post, 2010-02-06.
  27. ↑ http://www.diamondleague-oslo.com/en/Live-StartlistsResults/Overview/5000m-Men1/
  28. ↑ .
  29. ↑ .
  30. ↑ Sampaolo, Diego (2010-08-29). Rudisha lowers 800m World record again, 1:41.01; Carter dashes 9.78sec in Rieti – IAAF World Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-08-30.
  31. ↑ Parker, Morse (2012-02-12). U.S. 5000m record for Lagat in New York. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-02-13.
  32. ↑ http://www.cougcenter.com/2012/8/11/3236036/2012-london-olympics-results-5000-meter-bernard-lagat-galen-rupp-mo-farrah finished 4th
  33. ↑ Calderwood, Stuart (2012-9-23). . IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-01-27.
  34. ↑ http://www.usatf.org/News/0-(5).aspx
  35. ↑ http://usaindoor.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=25&do=news&news_id=224554
  36. ↑ http://www.letsrun.com/news/2014/06/bernard-lagat-age-39-wins-seventh-usa-mens-5000-title/
  37. ↑ http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/bernard-lagat-lowers-world-masters-3000-meter-mark-to-73771?cid=social41158406&adbid=10153123819057090&adbpl=fb&adbpr=23403427089

External links

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