Paul Tergat
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Paul Tergat (born June 17, 1969) is regarded by many as the father of Kenyan long distance running.
He currently holds the half-marathon and marathon world records of 59:17 and 2:04:55 respectively, which were set in Milan in 1998 and on September 28, 2003 in Berlin, Germany. In his world record marathon race, Tergat took a wrong turn towards the end of the race. He also abraded his foot so bad that it felt like the sole of his shoe fell off.
Furthermore, Tergat's achievements include 5 victories in the traditional Saint Silvester Marathon, the most important event in Latin American street racing. He is the principal winner of all times in that race, as well as holder of the record time for the present 15 km distance, which he established in 1995. His performances in the Saint Silvester Marathon have earned him the condition of celebrity in Brazil, where he is the second most recognized African personality, second only to Nelson Mandela.
He has often had to face second place, behind the great Haile Gebrselassie. In the Olympic Games 10,000 m. finals of both 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney), the Ethiopian 'Emperor' beat Tergat by a nose after Tergat led both races into the final lap. However, when the two met in the London Marathon in 2002, it was Tergat, four years Gebrselassie's senior, who got home first, behind then world-record holder Khalid Khannouchi. Prior to the 2004 Olympics, he had announced that the Olympic Marathon would be his last race representing Kenya, although he would continue to compete as an individual. In Athens marathon, he missed his water point and drank water supplied by organizers. He is used to drinking water at room temperatures, while the organizers supplied water that was very cold. This resulted in cramps. Tergat finished 10th in the Marathon at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He still cherishes a hope of competing in 2008 Olympics. However, he will not compete in World Championships any more.
In January 2004 Tergat was named a UN World Food Programme (WFP) "Ambassador against hunger". As a child he had to run many kilometres to school every day without enough to eat, until his school became one of many to benefit from the WFP's free daily school-lunch programme.