Noah Ngeny
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Noah Kiprono Ngeny (born November 2, 1978) is a Kenyan athlete, the surprise winner of the 1500 m at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Ngeny, a good 1500 m runner, had difficulty breaking through, with many of his compatriots also being strong middle and long distance runners. He finally got his chance at an international tournament in 1999, when he qualified for the World Championships. In Seville, he was defeated in the final by the reiging world champion Hicham El Guerrouj.
The two met again in the final of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. El Guerrouj, world record holder, twice world champion, had only been defeated once since the previous Olympics, and was the overwhelming favourite. The two rivals lead the race going into the last lap of the final, El Guerrouj leading Ngeny. With less than 100 m to go, Ngeny started moving next to the leader, grabbing the lead with just 15 m to go. He held on until the finish line, causing one of the greatest upsets at the Sydney Olympics.
While El Guerrouj went on to win the 2001 and 2003 World Championships, Ngeny could not really follow up to his 2000 success. At the Kenyan Trials for the 2004 Summer Olympics, he failed to qualify for the team, and was not able to defend his title in Athens.
| Olympic medalists in athletics (men) | Olympic Champions in Men's 1500 m |
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Teddy Flack | Charles Bennett | Jim Lightbody (twice) | Mel Sheppard | Arnold Jackson | Albert Hill | Paavo Nurmi | Harry Larva | Luigi Beccali | Jack Lovelock | Henry Eriksson | Josy Barthel | Ron Delany | Herb Elliott | Peter Snell | Kip Keino | Pekka Vasala | John Walker | Sebastian Coe (twice) | Peter Rono | Fermín Cacho | Noureddine Morceli | Noah Ngeny | Hicham El Guerrouj |