Bernard Lagat

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Medal record

Men's athletics
Competitor for Flag of Kenya Kenya
Olympic Games
Silver 2004 Athens 1500 m
Bronze 2000 Sydney 1500 m
World Championships
Silver 2001 Edmonton 1500 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold 2004 Budapest 3000 m
Silver 2003 Birmingham 1500 m
Competitor for Flag of the United States United States
World Championships
Gold 2007 Osaka 1500 m
Gold 2007 Osaka 5000 m

Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat (b. December 12, 1974, Kapsabet, Kenya) is a middle and long distance champion athlete who now represents the United States.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Lagat, now a Kenyan American, was born in Kaptel village, near Kapsabet town in Nandi District. His date of birth coincides with Jamhuri Day, the independence day of Kenya. 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 joinedJomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Nairobi 1996. Later in the same year he moved to Washington State University. In 2000, Lagat graduated from Washington State University --as athletic greats Henry Rono and Michael Kosgei from Kenya had done before him-- with a degree in management information systems.

Lagat's older sister Mary Chepkemboi is also a runner and African Champion from 1994.

Nickname is "Kipo"

[edit] Controversy

Lagat was among several Kenyan athletes, along with Richard Limo and Reuben Kosgei, who were heavily criticized for not representing their country in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Manchester, England. Instead, the runners chose to chase the prize money offered in the IAAF Golden League.

Lagat pulled out of the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, France, after being told he had tested positive for erythropoietin, (EPO), on August 8 whilst competing in Germany.[1] He was suspended from competition, but this was later lifted when a B sample tested negative. On hearing this good news he issued a statement saying "I hope this outcome will also remove any suggestion that I have ever taken drugs."

[edit] From Kenyan to US citizen

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 1500m is at stake, depending on how Kenya interprets its own laws (as of May, 2005, no additional news has arisen on this issue). Due to 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.

[edit] American track and field records

The US does allow dual citizenship and consequently races run by Lagat after May 7, 2004 could have been ratified as American records, since USA Track & Field (USATF) rules only state that an athlete has to be a US 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 US 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.

[edit] Double gold

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 1,500m and 5,000m at the same IAAF World Outdoor Championships. He was able to get this appomplishment due to the questionable strategie of his compettators. Similar feats were accomplished by Hicham El Guerrouj at the 2004 Olympics and Paavo Nurmi at the 1924 Olympics.[2]

[edit] Major Achievements

Lagat's greatest achievement have come primarily in 1500 meter races, which have included:

Competition Rank Time Place Date Notes
1999 Summer Universiade 1 x Spain. 1999 x
2000 Sydney Olympics 3 3:32.44 Sydney. 2000 Noah Ngeny(1), Hicham El Guerrouj(2)
2001 World Championships 2 3:31.10 Edmonton, Canada. 2001 Hicham El Guerrouj(1)
2002 IAAF World Cup 1 3:31.20 Madrid, Spain. 2002 x
2002 African Championships 1 3:38.11 Tunis, Tunisia. 2002 x
2003 World Indoor 2 3:42.62 Birmingham, UK. 2003 x
2003 World Championships DNS DNS Paris 2003 was suspended from competition
2004 World Indoor 1 7:56.34 (3000m) Budapest, Hungry. 2004 First international gold medal
2004 Athens Olympics 2 3:34.30 Athens, Greece. 2004 Hicham El Guerrouj(1)
2005 World Championships x x Helsinki 2005 banned due to nationality switch
2006 US Championships 1 13:14.32 (5000 m) Indianapolis 2006 (1 of 2)
2006 US Championships 1 3:39.29 Indianapolis 2006 (2 of 2)
2007 US Championships 1 13:30.73 (5000m) Indianapolis 2007 (1 of 2)
2007 US Championships 3 3:35.55 Indianapolis 2007 Alan Webb(1), Leonel Manzano(2)
2007 World Championships 1 3:34.77 Osaka 2007 First international outdoor gold medal
2007 World Championships 1 13:45.87 (5000 m) Osaka 2007 2nd international outdoor gold medal


[edit] Personal bests

Distance Mark Date Location
800 m 1:46.00 August 10, 2003 Berlin
1,000 m 2:16.27 August 7, 2007 Stockholm
1,500 m 3:26.34 August 24, 2001 Bruxelles
Mile 3:47.28 June 29, 2001 Rome
2,000 m 4:55.49 July 30, 1999 Stockholm
3,000 m 7:32.43i February 19, 2007 Birmingham
5,000 m 12:59.22 July 28, 2006 London

[edit] External links

[edit] Video links


Sporting positions
Preceded by
Flag of Morocco Hicham El Guerrouj		 Men's 1.500m Best Year Performance
2004 — 2005		 Succeeded by
Flag of Kenya Daniel Kipchirchir Komen