Joseph Kamau
Personal information
Born (1969-06-17) 17 June 1969
Rift Valley Province, Kenya
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Weight107 lb (49 kg)
Sport
CountryKenya Kenya
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)10K: 27:11
10 mile: 45:43
Half marathon: 1:01:02
Marathon: 2:10:40
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Kenya
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
Gold medal – first place1992 South ShieldsTeam
World Marathon Majors
Bronze medal – third place 1996 New York City Marathon
Silver medal – second place 1997 Boston Marathon

Joseph Kamau (also known as Joseph Kamau Njuguna, b. June 17, 1969) is a former professional long-distance runner from Kenya who finished second in the 1997 Boston Marathon[1][2][3] and third in the 1996 New York City Marathon.[4][5]

Professional career

Joseph Kamau had been a professional runner since the age of 19. He was born in a small village in Kenya's Rift Valley Province. His speed while running got faster over the years and he was named to the Kenyan World Championship team in the half marathon in 1992.[6] He finished 30th in 1:02:30 and the team (which also featured Lameck Aguta, Joseph Keino, Cosmas Ndeti, and winner Benson Masya) finished first.[7][8]

His marathon personal record of 2:10:40 from New York[9] prompted Boston news organizations and Runner's World to regard him as one of the fastest runners in the world.[6] When he began winning U.S. road races, he was part of a cultural shift that saw top prizes going to foreign runners (often in Kenyan and Ethiopian).[10] These sweeping wins prompted many race officials and running commentators in the early to mid-1990s to suggest ways to distribute prize money not just to the first-place finishers (who were often African), but also first-place American finishers.[11]

The peak of his marathon career was 1996-1997. In April of '96, he made his 26.2-mile debut battling on the roads from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to Boston with the top runners in the world. At the halfway mark, Kamau was leading the rest, clocking 1:02:01. But two miles later he was in fifth, and he finished in 30th (2:18:48) while Moses Tanui took the win in the 100th running of the race.[12]

In November, he toed the line in the New York City Marathon on a morning with 40-degree weather and gusting wind, dueling with Tanui, Cosmas Ndeti, Turbo Tumo, Andres Espinosa, and other elites from around the world. This time, Kamau didn't fade late, but led with Tumo and surprise contender Giacomo Leone, a police officer from small-town Italy. As Leone dropped a 4:44 mile at marker 25, Tumo got a step on Kamau, who kept the pressure on to earn $25,000 in a third-place finish, just 15 seconds ahead of fellow Kenyan John Kagwe. (Kagwe would go on to be the '97 and '98 New York City Marathon champion).[13][14][15][5]

At the 1997 Boston Marathon, Kamau had a better idea of the course's punishing Newton hills and didn't take the lead until the halfway point, which he crossed in 1:06:11. As he moved through Brookline, Massachusetts toward the city, he traded places with Dionicio Ceron, Andre Ramos and Lameck Aguta. But into the city, Aguta passed them all and Kamau held strong on his heels. Kamau finished second in 2:10:46, just 12 seconds behind the winner. After the race, Kamau told reporters he favored the shorter distances.[16][17]

Kamau has won several notable races, including the 1994 Great Scottish Run half marathon, the 1994 Auray-Vannes Half Marathon, the 1995 Falmouth Road Race, the 1995 Broad Street Run 10-mile, the 1996 Cooper River Bridge Run 10K, the 1996 Pittsburgh Great Race 10K (after coming up a few yards short in 1995), the 1996 and 1999 20K New Haven Road Race, and the 2003 Grandma's Marathon.[12][18][19][20][21]

He is the course record holder for the Crim Festival of Races 10-mile, where he won in 1996 on a cool day. He had placed second the year before (to Thomas Osano) when they had both broken the previous record time. Kamau's 1996 win came within six seconds of breaking the world's record 10-mile time.[22][23] He was fourth at 2002 the South American Marathon Championships, where he ran as a guest.[24]

He is a two-time winner of the Philadelphia Distance Run (1995, 1996)[25] and a three-time winner of the Long Beach Marathon (2001–3).[26] He debuted his full marathon running skills at the Frankfurt Marathon. He has continued to receive recognition for his fast race times over the years.

Personal records

30 kilometer race in Hamilton, Canada, with a time of 1:35:36, 2003[26]

25 kilometer race in Michigan with a time of 1:18:25, 1999[26]

Half marathon in Pennsylvania with a time of 1:01:02, 1996, PR[26]

20 kilometers in Connecticut with a time of 58:33, 1996[26]

10 mile in Michigan with a time of 45:43, 1996[26]

15 kilometers in Oklahoma with a time of 42:50, 1996[26]

10 kilometers in Pennsylvania with a time of 27:11, 1995[26]

800 meters in Nairobi, Kenya, with a time of 1:54, 2007[26]

References

  1. ↑ Burris, Joe (22 April 1997). "Tale of two countries unfolded". Sports. Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media.
  2. ↑ "1997 Boston Marathon". ESPN (in Spanish). 29 minutes 18 seconds. Boston, Massachusetts: Respaldo Canal de Juan José Martínez (published 9 November 2018). 21 April 1997. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022 – via YouTube.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ↑ Golen, Jimmy (21 April 1997). "Kenyan Lameck Aguta wins Boston Marathon". Associated Press. New York, New York. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  4. ↑ Bloom, Marc (1 November 1996). "A Run for the Money Over Uneven Course". The New York Times. New York, New York. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 Ken Young; Andy Milroy, eds. (2022). "Joseph Kamau Njuguna". arrs.com. Mattole Valley, California: Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Joseph Kamau Biography". Marathon Central. Boston.com. Within Boston Globe's archive website. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media. 1999. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ↑ Ken Young; Andy Milroy, eds. (2022). "IAAF Diet Coke World Championships". arrs.com. Mattole Valley, California: Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "Newcastle 1992—World Half Marathon Championships". BBC. 47 minutes 44 seconds. London, England: posted February 6, 2016 by World Athletics. 20 September 1992. Retrieved 20 November 2022 – via YouTube.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. ↑ "Heavyweights fade away to leave surprise men's, women's victories". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Publishing. Associated Press. 4 November 1996. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Young, Pete (10 October 1999). "Elite runners follow money trail to festival". Tampa Bay Times. Tampa Bay, Florida: Times Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  11. ↑ Jackson, Derrick (21 November 1996). "Race goes to the swift, but prize goes to the white". Roundtable. The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington: The Cowles Company. The Boston Globe. p. B5.
  12. 1 2 Concannon, Joe (16 April 1996). "Tanui leaves Ndeti behind". Boston Marathon. The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media. p. 41, 47, 60.
  13. ↑ Coffey, Wayne (4 November 1996). "Leone Cops a Stunner". NYC Marathon. The Daily News. New York, New York: Tribune Publishing. p. 54.
  14. ↑ Dobie, Michael (4 November 1996). "It's Upset City: No-names from Italy, Romania steal the show". New York City Marathon. Newsday. Melville, New York: Newsday Media. p. 68.
  15. ↑ Gross, Andrew (4 November 1996). "Leone Springs Surprise". Marathon. The Daily Times. Mamaroneck, New York: Gannett. p. 9D.
  16. ↑ Concannon, Joe (22 April 1997). "A New Order: Lameck Aguta—He's next link in Kenya's domination". 101st Boston Marathon. The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media. p. F1, F9.
  17. ↑ Burris, Joe (22 April 1997). "A tale of two countries unfolded". 101st Boston Marathon. The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media. p. F8.
  18. ↑ Spencer, Trevor (31 March 1996). "Kenyans dominate Cooper:Kamau leads way in Bridge Run". Sports. The State. Columbia, South Carolina: Chatham Asset Management. p. 35.
  19. ↑ Robertson, Scott (30 September 1996). "In Fast Company: Kenya's Kamau, Asiago run to victory in Great Race". Sports. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Block Communications. p. D1, D6.
  20. ↑ Riley, Lori (3 September 1996). "LeMay is happy to be stuck in the middle". Sports. Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut: Tribune Publishing. p. C1, C5.
  21. ↑ Millea, John (22 June 2003). "A 'Normal' Triumph". Sports. Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. C12.
  22. ↑ Gerweck, Jim (30 April 2004). "Summer Heat: A Road Racing Tour of the USA". August. Runner's World. Eaton, Pennsylvania: Hearst. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  23. ↑ Henderson, Tom (25 August 1996). "Kenya's Kamau wins Crim in 45:43". Sports. Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan: Knight Ridder. p. 10D.
  24. ↑ "VIII Maratona de São Paulo Transmisión Especial". Vivo TV (in Spanish). 28 minutes 44 seconds. São Paulo, Brazil: posted by Nilsondm (published 12 October 2012). 14 July 2002. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022 – via YouTube.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  25. ↑ Reavis, Toni; Eyestone, Ed (27 September 1997). "1997 Philadelphia Distance Run Broadcast Special". WPHL-TV. 58 minutes 50 seconds. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: posted by PregoTalenti LLC (published 26 October 2016). Retrieved 3 October 2022 – via YouTube.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Joseph Kamau". Monaco: World Athletics. 2022. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
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