Irene Chepet Cheptai (born 4 February 1992) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running. She was the gold medallist at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships and led Kenya to the team title. Cheptai won the silver medal for the 10,000 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Prior to that she was a junior silver medallist at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships and represented Kenya in the senior race in 2013 and 2015, winning team medals both times.
Career Irene Chepet Cheptai made her international debut at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics, where she ran a personal best of 9:22.05 minutes to place seventh overall in the 3000 metres. The following year she established herself internationally on grass by taking the silver medal in the junior race at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, losing only to Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba in a sprint finish.Brown, Matthew (2008-03-30). Junior Women's Race Report - Edinburgh 2008". IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-08-02. She did not compete at a high level for several years after that and marked her entrance into the senior ranks with a seventh-place finish in the 5000 metres at the 2012 Kenyan Athletics Championships.Irene Cheptai. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2015-08-02.
Cheptai began to make an impact at senior level in the 2013 season, starting with a runner-up finish at the Cross Internacional de Itálica and third place at the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza.Valiente, Emeterio (2013-01-20). Birech outsprints Bett, Cherono cruises to victory at Italica meeting. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-08-02.Valiente, Emeterio (2013-01-14). Kipruto and Burka the commanding victors at Elgoibar. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-08-02. Second place to Margaret Muriuki at the Kenya Cross Country Championships brought on her selection for the senior national team,Mutuota, Mutwiri (2013-02-16). Rono and Muriuki win Kenyan World Cross Trials in Nairobi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-08-02. and finished tenth at the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships (although only fifth best among the winning Kenyan team). Senior Race women 40th IAAF World Cross Country Championships 2013. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-08-02. She competed on the IAAF Diamond League track circuit for the first time that year and managed personal bests of 8:56.20 minutes and 14:50.99 minutes for the 3000 m and 5000 m respectively.
The 2014 season was a step back on the track for Cheptai, as she finished lowly in Diamond League races and failed to improve her bests. She did make progress in road running, however, coming second at the Groningen Four-Mile Run and Nairobi Diamond 10K Run, setting a best of 31:45 minutes at the latter. She began training with Turkish athletics club Üsküdar Belediyesi and brought the club victory in the individual and team categories at the European Champion Clubs Cup Cross Country.Mills, Steven (2015-02-01). World champions wilt at South Rift championships – cross-country round-up. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-08-02. After winning the Discovery Kenya Cross Country,Mills, Steven (2015-02-08). Derrick secures domestic hat-trick at US Champs – cross-country round-up. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-08-02. Cheptai was again selected for the Kenyan team for the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and reached a new high in seventh place, winning the team silver medal with Kenya.Chebet and Karoki lead Kenya's final team for World Cross. IAAF (2015-03-19). Retrieved on 2015-08-02.Senior Race women IAAF World Cross Country Championships 2015. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-08-02. On the 2015 IAAF Diamond League circuit, she placed in the top six of the 5000 m at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, Prefontaine Classic and Bislett Games. A runner-up finish to Viola Kibiwott at the 2015 Athletics Kenya World Championship Trials earned her a place on her first senior track team for Kenya.Mutuota, Mutwiri (2015-08-01). ‘Fergie’ topples ‘King David’, Kiprop, Sum soar. Capital FM. Retrieved on 2015-08-02.
From the beginning of 2016, she started her collaboration with the Italian Coach Renato Canova, and during the season she achieved PB in both the 5000m (14:43.42) and 10,000m (31:15.38).
She won her first national title at the 2017 Kenyan Cross Country Championships.Evans, Kip (2017-02-18). Barsoton and Cheptai take Kenyan cross-country titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2017-03-22.
At the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships Cheptai won individual and team gold, in a historic event in which Kenya secured the top six positions in the senior women's race.
Personal bests 1500 metres – 4:13.75 (Kortrijk 2014) 3000 metres – 8:48.03 (Zürich 2015) 5000 metres – 14:43.42 (Eugene, OR 2016) 10000 metres - 30:44.00 (Tokyo 2021) Road 10 kilometres – 30:16 (Prague 2022) Half marathon – 1:06:42 (New Delhi 2022)
International competitions 2007World Youth ChampionshipsOstrava, Czech Republic7th3000 m9:22.052008World Cross Country ChampionshipsEdinburgh, United Kingdom2ndJunior race20:042ndJunior team20 pts2013World Cross Country ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland10thSenior race25:011stSenior team19 pts2015European Champion Clubs Cup Cross CountryGuadalajara, Spain1stSenior race20:43World Cross Country ChampionshipsQingzhen, China7thSenior race26:262ndSenior team19 ptsWorld ChampionshipsBeijing, China7th5000 m15:03.412017World Cross Country ChampionshipsKampala, Uganda1stSenior race31:571stSenior team10 ptsWorld ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom7th10,000 m31:21.112021Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan6th10,000 m30:44.002022Commonwealth GamesBirmingham, United Kingdom2nd10,000 m30:49.522025Boston MarathonBoston, Massachusetts4th42km2:21:32
National titles Kenyan Cross Country Championships Senior race: 2017
Notes The athlete's name may also be rendered as Irine Chebet Cheptai.
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