Isaac Kimeli (born 9 March 1994 in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya) is a Kenyan born Belgian middle- and long-distance runner.
Kimeli is a 5000m silver medal winner at the World Athletics Championships.
Kimeli won two Diamond League meetings, securing victory in the 5000 m at the 2019 Memorial Van Damme in Brussels (promotional event) with a then personal best of 13:13.02 and six years later at the very rainy 2025 Athletissima meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland also in the 5000m.
Training and personal life When Kimeli was four years old, his mother migrated from their home county of Uasin Gishu in Kenya to Belgium to work as a nurse. Kimeli was left in the care of his grandparents for ten years. At age 15 he was finally reunited with his mother in Belgium. It was there that his PE teachers encouraged him to join a track club.
Career In 2011, Kimeli competed in his first international competition at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Trabzon, Turkey.
Two years later, Kimeli won his first international medal by winning a silver at the junior 2013 European Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. This was soon followed by a gold medal at the Under-23 2016 European Cross Country Championships in Chia, Italy, and 2 silver medals (one individual, one team) and a bronze at the senior level 2018, 2019 and 2022 European Cross Country Championships resp. He picked up another silver medal with the Belgium men's team at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey.
On the track, Kimeli earned a silver in the 5000 metres at the 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships and in the 3000 metres at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
Kimeli represented Belgium at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan resp. Paris, France, his best result an 8th place in the final of the men's 5000 metres in Paris.
In September 2025 at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Kimeli became the first Belgian athlete since Gaston Reiff won the gold medal in the men's 5000 metres at the 1948 Summer Olympics to win a medal in a 5000m or 10000m event at a senior world athletics championship or Olympic Games.
2026 was not a good year for Kimeli. Having entered the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England after an anonymous outdoor season, he finished a disappointing ninth in the men's 5000 metres and did not cross the finish line in the 10,000 metres. After the race, Kimeli announced that at the end of 2026, he would switch from track to road running and focus on the marathon.
Achievements Competition record 2011European Youth Olympic FestivalTrabzon, Turkey9th1500 m3:58.802012European Cross Country ChampionshipsSzentendre, Hungary6thXC 6.025 km U2019:002013World Cross Country ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland30thXC 8 km U2023:15European Cross Country ChampionshipsBelgrade, Serbia2ndXC 6.025 km U2017:512014European ChampionshipsZürich, Switzerland19th (h)1500 m3:41.96European Cross Country ChampionshipsSamokov, Bulgaria20thXC 7.782 km U2326:202015European U23 ChampionshipsTallinn, Estonia2nd5000 m13:54.33European Cross Country ChampionshipsHyères, France38thXC 8.087 km U2324:272016European ChampionshipsAmsterdam, Netherlands9th1500 m3:47.92European Cross Country ChampionshipsChia, Italy1stXC 7.97 km U2322:482017World Cross Country ChampionshipsKampala, Uganda–XC 9.858 kmDNF2018European ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany15th (h)1500 m3:42.77– (f)5000 mDQEuropean Cross Country ChampionshipsTilburg, Netherlands2ndXC 10.3 km28:522019European Team Championships First LeagueSandnes, Norway1st3000 m8:09.09World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar18th (sf)1500 m3:37.5014th5000 m13:44.29European Cross Country ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal7thXC 10.3 km30:462ndTeam38 pts2021European Indoor ChampionshipsToruń, Poland2nd3000 m7:49.41Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan32nd (h)5000 m13:57.3618th10,000 m28:31.912022World Indoor ChampionshipsBelgrade, Serbia– (f)3000 mDNSWorld ChampionshipsEugene, OR, United States10th10,000 m27:43.50 European ChampionshipsMunich, Germany11th5000 m13:33.39– (f)10,000 mDNFEuropean Cross Country ChampionshipsTurin, Italy3rdXC 9.572 km29:452023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary13th10,000 m28:20.772024European ChampionshipsRome, Italy14th10,000 m28:17.84Olympic GamesParis, France11th (h)5,000 m13:19.258th (f)13:18.1019th (f)10,000 m27:51.522025European Running ChampionshipsBrussels-Leuven, Belgium 3rd10 km27:58World ChampionshipsTokyo, Japan2nd5000 m12:58.782026European ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom9th5000 m13:23.17 –10,000 mDNF
National titles Belgian Athletics Championships 1500 metres: 2014 Belgian Indoor Athletics Championships 3000 metres: 2022 Belgian Cross Country Championships 2015, 2017, 2018, 2023, 2023, 2024
Personal bests 1500 metres – 3:36.51 (Marseille 2018) 3000 metres – 7:47.48 (Rome 2020) 3000 metres indoor – 7:44.17 (Ghent 2021) 5000 metres – 12:56.53 (Stockholm 2024) 10,000 metres – 27:07.97 (San Juan Capistrano 2024) Road 10 kilometres – 27:10 (Valencia 2025)
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