Timothy Cheruiyot (born 20 November 1995) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner specialising in the 1500 metres. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the event and the 11th fastest athlete all time over the distance. At the World Athletics Championships, Cheruiyot won the silver medal in 2017 in London, and a gold in 2019 in Doha.
He took the silver medal in his specialty event at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games, and is also a two-time African Championship silver medallist from 2016 and 2018. Cheruiyot won the 1500 m Diamond League title on four occasions: in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.
Personal life and career Cheruiyot is from the town of Singorwet, in Bomet County, Kenya, and lives on a farm with his family. Beginning in 2014, he began to train in the outskirts of Nairobi, via the Rongai Athletics Club, under Coach Bernard Ouma.
Early Career: 2015-2018
2015 Cheruiyot's first major milestone in his career was competing on Kenya's Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team at the 2015 IAAF World Relays in The Bahamas. Team Kenya's goal was to improve on their existing DMR world record of 9:15.56 set back in 2006, but the new world record ended up going to the United States, in a time of 9:15.50, while Kenya finished second in a time of 9:17.20. Cheruiyot anchored this DMR (1600 m leg) against the United States' Ben Blankenship.
Cheruiyot would have a rematch against Blankenship three weeks later at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, in the men's International Mile. Blankenship won in a time of 3:55.72, while Cheruiyot finished 3rd in a time of 3:55.80.
Cheruiyot then switched attention to the 1500 m at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. Here, he made it through the rounds and took 7th place in the final in a time of 3:36.05.
2016 In 2016, Cheruiyot won the 1500 m at the Rabat Diamond League, in a personal best time of 3:33.61. He also took a silver medal in the 1500m at the African Championships in Durban (3:39.71), and finished 2nd in the Emsley Carr Mile (3:53.17) at the Anniversary Games in London.
However, despite his successes, Cheruiyot took 4th place in the 1500 m final at the Kenyan Olympic Trials and was therefore unable to represent Kenya at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Although disappointed by not making Kenya's Olympic Team, Cheruiyot had another breakthrough by winning the 1500 m at the Brussels Diamond League, in a personal best time of 3:31.34.
2017: World Silver Medallist & First Diamond League Title On 18 June, Cheruiyot won the 1500 m at the Stockholm Diamond League in a new personal best of 3:30.77. He followed it up by finishing second at the Kenyan World Championship Trials, qualifying him for the 2017 World Championships in London. On 21 July, Cheruiyot finished second at the Monaco Diamond League in 3:29.10, his first time under the 3:30-barrier.
At the aforementioned World Championships, Cheruiyot won the silver medal, finishing behind compatriot Elijah Manangoi. In his final race of the season, Cheruiyot won at the Diamond League Final in a time of 3:33.93.
2018: Second Diamond League Title At the Commonwealth Games held on the Gold Coast, Cheruiyot claimed the silver medal in the 1500 m. On 12 May, he won the Shanghai Diamond League in a time of 3:31.48. He continued his good form by winning the mile at the Prefontaine Classic in 3:49.87. He went on to win at the Monaco Diamond League on 20 July, running 3:28.41 - a time which would be the world lead for the 2018 season. Cheruiyot won at the Diamond League Final in Zurich, in a time of 3:30.27.
At the end of the season, Cheruiyot was nominated for World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year.
2019: World Champion and Third Diamond League Title On 30 June, Cheruiyot won the mile at the Prefontaine Classic in 3:50.49. He also won over 1500 m at the Laussane and Monaco Diamond Leagues in 3:28.77 and 3:29.97, respectively. On 22 August, Cheruiyot won the 800 m at the Kenyan National Championships, in a time of 1:43.11, his first time under the 1:44-barrier. He then won over 1500 m at the Kenyan World Championship Trials on 13 September to secure his place at the World Championships in Doha. At the World Championships, Cheruiyot won gold in the 1500 m. In a "superb display of dominance", he won by 2.12 s, the largest winning margin in World Championship 1500 m history.
2020-2021: Covid Pandemic, Olympic Silver Medal, Fourth Diamond League Title After the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the 2020 season, Cheruiyot was forced to compete less frequently. He won the Kenyan race over 2000 m at the Impossible Games, beating Elijah Manangoi. However, he lost the overall race to "Team Ingebrigtsen" who were competing in Oslo. He set the world lead for the 2020 season at the Monaco Diamond League, running 3:28.47.
In 2021, Cheruiyot opened his season by winning the Doha Diamond League in 3:30.48. He finished a shock fourth at the Kenyan Olympic Trials, failing to qualify for the Olympics. However, he was allowed to compete as second-placer Kamar Etyang was barred for participating due to not meeting anti-doping rules. He recovered from his upset to win at the Stockholm Diamond League in 3:32.40. He also picked up the win at the Monaco Diamond League, setting a new personal best of 3:28.28.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Cheruiyot won silver in the 1500 m. Cheruiyot led for the majority of the race, however was overtaken by Jakob Ingebrigtsen on the final turn. He held off the fast-finishing Josh Kerr who took bronze. He ended his season by winning the Diamond League Final in Zurich with a time of 3:31.27.
2022: Commonwealth Silver Medal Cheruiyot began his 2022 season with a 2nd-placed finish at the Doha Diamond League and a 3rd-placed finished over the mile at the Prefontaine Classic. He finished second at the Kenyan World Championship Trials to qualify for the 2022 World Championships, where he finished sixth in a season's best of 3:30.69.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Cheruiyot won the silver medal behind Ollie Hoare in a time of 3:30.21. He was unable to win his fifth successive Diamond League title as he finished second at the Diamond League Final on 8 September.
2023 Cheruiyot opened his 2023 season with a 3,000 m race at the Doha Diamond League, finishing 5th in a time of 7:36.72. He returned to winning ways over 1500 m at the Los Angeles Grand Prix, running 3:31.47. On 15 June, Cheruiyot competed at the Oslo Diamond League, running a season's best of 3:29.08 to finish fourth. After winning the Kenyan World Championship Trials in a sprint finish, Cheruiyot was named in the team for the World Championships.
At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Cheruiyot was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1500 m. After the Championships, he revealed he had been struggling with a knee injury and would miss the rest of the season.
2024 On 10 May, Cheruiyot competed at the Doha Diamond League, finishing second as part of a Kenyan 1-2-3 alongside Brian Komen and Reynold Cheruiyot, in a time of 3:32.67. At the Oslo Diamond League on 30 May, Cheruiyot finished second, being narrowly pipped on the line by a diving Jakob Ingebrigtsen, in a season's best of 3:29.77. At the Kenyan Olympic Trials, Cheruiyot finished third in the 1500 m to qualify for the Paris Olympics. In July, he once again finished second behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the Monaco Diamond League, running a season's best of 3:28.71.
At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Cheruiyot finished 11th in the 1500 m, having tried to go with the early pace he faded badly over the last lap. He recovered from his disappointment to win over 800 m at the Grand Prix Lombardia in Brescia and finish second over 1500 m at the Diamond League Final in Brussels.
In November, Cheruiyot expressed his desire to retire from the 1500 m after the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, and transition to long-distance running and marathons.
2025: World Championship 4th Cheruiyot opened his season the Grand Slam Track Miami meet and finished 6th in the 1500 m in 3:35.61. At the Golden Gala, Cheruiyot finished second in 3:29.75 behind Azeddine Habz. A week later at the Oslo Diamond League, he was 4th in the Mile in 3:49.06. At the Kenyan Championships, Cheruiyot placed 2nd behind Reynold Cheruiyot and went on to take 7th in 3:47.71 in the Bowerman Mile at 2025 Prefontaine Classic.
At the 2025 World Athletics Championships, Cheruiyot placed 4th in the 1500 m, narrowly missing out on the podium behind his compatriot Reynold Cheruiyot.
2026: Commonwealth Bronze Medal Despite his previous statement, Cheruiyot continued to race on the track in 2026. He set a new 3000 m personal best of 7:27.48 at the Shanghai Diamond League, finishing 4th, and a new 5000 m personal best at the Xiamen Diamond League with 13:16.41 for 13th place.
Cheruiyot ran 3:30.67 for 3rd at the Stockholm Diamond League, marking his tenth straight year under 3:31 for 1500 m, then won the Dream Mile at the Oslo Diamond League in a photo-finish 3:48.21 over Yared Nuguse for his first Diamond League circuit victory in 5 years.
At the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Cheruiyot placed 3rd in the Mile behind Josh Kerr and Cam Myers.
Achievements International competitions 2015IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas2ndDistance medley relay9:17.20World Championships Beijing, China7th1500 m3:36.052016African Championships Durban, South Africa2nd1500 m3:39.712017World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom2nd1500 m3:33.992018Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia2nd1500 m3:35.17African ChampionshipsAsaba, Nigeria2nd1500 m3:35.932019World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar1st1500 m3:29.262021Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan2nd1500 m3:29.012022World ChampionshipsEugene, United States6th1500 m3:30.69Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom2nd1500 m3:30.212023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary23rd (sf)1500 m3:37.402024Olympic GamesParis, France11th1500 m3:31.352025World ChampionshipsTokyo, Japan4th1500 m3:34.502026Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom3rdMile3:55.41World Ultimate ChampionshipBudapest, Hungary8th1500 m3:31.47
Circuit performances
Diamond League wins and titles Representing Nike2016Meeting de RabatRabat, Morocco1st1500m3:33.61Memorial Van DammeBrussels, Belgium1st1500m3:31.342017BAUHAUS-galanStockholm, Sweden1st1500m3:30.77 Weltklasse ZürichZürich, Switzerland1st1500m3:31.342018Diamond League ShanghaiShanghai, China1st1500m3:31.48Prefontaine ClassicEugene, United States1stOne Mile3:49.87Golden GalaRome, Italy1st1500m3:31.22Meeting de ParisParis, France1st1500m3:29.71HerculisMonaco, Monaco1st1500m3:28.41 Weltklasse ZürichZürich, Switzerland1st1500m3:30.272019BAUHAUS-galanStockholm, Sweden1st1500m3:32.47Prefontaine ClassicEugene, United States1stOne Mile3:50.49AthletissimaLausanne, Switzerland1st1500m3:28.77HerculisMonaco, Monaco1st1500m3:29.97 Memorial Van DammeBrussels, Belgium1st1500m3:30.222020HerculisMonaco, Monaco1st1500m3:28.45BAUHAUS-galanStockholm, Sweden1st1500m3:35.792021Doha Diamond LeagueDoha, Qatar1st1500m3:30.48BAUHAUS-galanStockholm, Sweden1st1500m3:32.30HerculisMonaco, Monaco1st1500m3:28.28 Weltklasse ZürichZürich, Switzerland1st1500m3:31.372026Bislett GamesOslo, Norway1stMile3:48.21
National championships