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Medal record
Men’s Athletics
Competitor for  Kenya
Olympic Games
Silver	1996 Atlanta	3000 m steeplechase
World Championships
Gold	1991 Tokyo	3000 m steeplechase
Gold	1993 Stuttgart	3000 m steeplechase
Gold	1995 Gothenburg	3000 m steeplechase
Silver	1997 Athens	3000 m steeplechase
World Junior Championships
Gold	1990 Plovdiv	1500 m

Moses Kiptanui (born October 1, 1970 in Marakwet District, Kenya) is a middle and long distance athlete mostly famous for 3,000 m steeplechase in which he was the number one ranked athlete from 1991 to 1995 and three time IAAF World Champion. Kiptanui was also the first man ever to run 3000 m steeplechase in under eight minutes.

Kiptanui emerged in 1991 as a relatively unknown athlete. He won several Grand prix races that season. He celebrated an especially spectacular victory in Zurich where he fell on the track on the last lap but still won easily.

His victory at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo therefore came as no surprise. To the great disappointment of many observers he was not included in the Kenyan team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Kiptanui had failed to qualify at the Kenyan trials in Nairobi.

However, shortly after the Olympics he set a new world record over 3000 m in Cologne with a time of 7:28.96 min. Only three days later he also broke the 3000 m steeplechase world record in 8:02.08 in Zurich. The following year, he defended the World Championship title easily in Stuttgart. He won the steeplechase race at the 1994 IAAF World Cup ^[1].

In 1995 he broke the 5000 m world record in Rome in a time of 12:55.30 min (June 8). After collecting his third World Championship gold medal in Gothenburg he also set the new 3000 m steeplechase record in Zurich in a time of 7:59.18 min (August 16), the first man in history to ever dip under eight minutes for the 3000 m steeplechase.

A year later, he missed out on an Olympic gold medal again when he came second in the final in Atlanta. He was defeated by fellow Kenyan Joseph Keter. The next year, at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics in Athens, Greece, Kiptanui failed to win fourth consecutive gold medal, but took silver. The winner was Wilson Boit Kipketer, also from Kenya.

He was still active in 2001 sighting the 2002 Commonwealth Games ^[2], but did not compete there. After retirement, he has been a running coach. In 2008 he coached the reigning Olympic gold medalist, Ezekiel Kemboi ^[3]. He has also been the chairman of the Marakwet District branch of Athletics Kenya ^[4].

Silas Kosgei, a world youth champion in steeplechase from 2007 is his cousin ^[5].

Major achievements

• 1990
  • 1990 African Championships in Athletics - Cairo, Egypt.
    • 1500 m gold medal
  • 1990 IAAF World Junior Championships - Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
    • 1500 m gold medal
• 1991
  • 1991 World Championships in Athletics - Tokyo, Japan.
    • 3000 m steeplechase gold medal
  • 1991 All-Africa Games - Cairo, Egypt.
    • 3000 m steeplechase gold medal
• 1993
  • 1993 World Championships in Athletics - Stuttgart, Germany.
    • 3000 m steeplechase gold medal
• 1994
  • 1994 Goodwill Games - Saint Petersburg, Russia.
    • 5000 m gold medal
• 1995
  • 1995 World Championships in Athletics - Gothenburg, Sweden.
    • 3000 m steeplechase gold medal
• 1996
  • 1996 Summer Olympics - Atlanta, United States of America.
    • 3000 m steeplechase silver medal
• 1997
  • 1997 World Championships in Athletics - Athens, Greece.
    • 3000 m steeplechase silver medal

References

External links

• IAAF profile for Moses Kiptanui

Records
Preceded by Said Aouita	Men's 3000 m World Record Holder August 16, 1992 — August 2, 1994	Succeeded by Noureddine Morceli
Preceded by Haile Gebrselassie	Men's 5000 m World Record Holder June 6, 1995 – August 16, 1995	Succeeded by Haile Gebrselassie
Preceded by Peter Koech	Men's Steeplechase World Record Holder August 19, 1992 — August 13, 1997	Succeeded by Wilson Boit Kipketer
Sporting positions
Preceded by Dieter Baumann	Men's 3000 m Best Year Performance 1992	Succeeded by Noureddine Morceli
Preceded by Noureddine Morceli	Men's 3000 m Best Year Performance 1995	Succeeded by Daniel Komen
Preceded by Yobes Ondieki	Men's 5000 m Best Year Performance 1992	Succeeded by Ismael Kirui
Preceded by Peter Koech	Men's 3000 m Steeple Best Year Performance 1991 – 1995	Succeeded by John Kosgei