Keino, Kipchoge (1940-…), was an outstanding Kenyan track and field runner. Keino was among the first of many Kenyan runners to gain international success. He helped and inspired many of his fellow Kenyans to become track stars.
Keino won four medals in the Summer Olympic Games . He won a gold medal in the men’s 1,500-meter race in Mexico City in 1968 and a gold medal in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in Munich, Germany, in 1972. (One meter equals about 3 1/4 feet.) A steeplechase is a cross-country footrace in which the runners jump over hurdles and a ditch filled with water. Keino also won silver medals in the 5,000-meter race in Mexico City and in the 1,500-meter race in Munich.
Keino set a world record in the 3,000-meter race in 1965. Later that year, he set a world record in the 5,000-meter race. He also won two gold medals in the 1-mile and 3-mile races in the Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1966 and a gold medal in the 1,500-meter race in the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1970. (One mile equals 5,280 feet.)
Hezekiah Kipchoge Keino was born in Kipsamo, Kenya, on Jan. 17, 1940. His mother died when he was a child, and he was raised by his father. After completing secondary school, Keino joined the Kenyan police force and also played rugby before launching his international running career at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia.
Keino retired from track and field competition in 1973. He lives on a farm in western Kenya and devotes himself to humanitarian work, especially in education. Keino runs a charitable organization for orphans and has helped build a primary school and a high school in Kenya. He became president of the Kenyan Olympic Committee in 1999.
