Agnes Jebet Tirop

Agnes Jebet Tirop (born 23 October 1995) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who mainly competes in the 5000 metres and cross country running. At the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships she became the second-youngest ever gold medallist in the women's race after Zola Budd. She was a medallist at junior level at the World Cross Country and World Junior Championships in Athletics. She was also the junior champion at the African Cross Country Championships in 2014. She holds a 5000 m best of 14:50.36 minutes. She won a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres event at the 2017 World Championships.

Agnes Jebet Tirop
Personal information
NationalityKenyan
Born23 October 1995
Uasin Gishu County, Kenya [1]
Sport
CountryKenya
SportAthletics
Event(s)10,000 metres
Medal record
World Championships
2017 London10,000 m
2019 Doha10,000 m
World Cross Country Championships
2015 GuiyangSenior race
2013 BydgoszczJunior Race
2015 GuiyangSenior team

Career

Tirop first rose to prominence at national level in 2012, when she was runner-up to world junior champion Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships.[2] This led to her first national selection and international medal at the 2012 African Cross Country Championships; she was again runner-up to Kipyegon and took the junior silver medal.[3] She was Kenya's most prominent entrant for the 5000 metres at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics and finished with a bronze medal in a personal best of 15:36.74 minutes behind Ethiopian opposition.[4][5]

Tirop was again second to Kipyegon at the 2013 Kenyan Cross Country Championships and teamwork between the pair led to a Kenyan 1–2 and team title at the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Kipyegon defended her title while Tirop was a narrow second to claim her first medal at the competition.[6][7] She made progress on the track that year, setting personal bests of 8:39.13 minutes for the 3000 metres and 14:50.36 minutes for the 5000 metres, and also on the roads with a half marathon best of 71:57 minutes.[8]

In the 2014 season she finally emerged from Kipyegon's shadow. Tirop won the Kenyan cross country junior title and then dominated the junior race at the 2014 African Cross Country Championships, leading the Kenyans to victory by a 14-second margin (Kipyegon won both senior races).[9][10] She was unable to achieve such a margin over African runner-up Alemitu Heroye at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics and was again third in the 5000 m, while the Ethiopians extended Kenya's historic lack of a gold medal in that event.[11]

Tirop entered the senior ranks in the 2015 season and immediately performed well, winning the Eldoret Discovery Cross Country in Kenya.[12] She was second to Kipyegon at the Kenyan senior national championship race and earned a senior national selection – a performance which filled her with confidence: "I did not even believe I could make the team. I will not fear running against seniors."[13] For the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, after Kipyegon withdrew the reigning world champion Emily Chebet was seen as Kenya's leading athlete, and Tirop as a key team member.[14] Despite this being her senior international debut and the fourth youngest athlete in the field,[15] Tirop took to the front and gradually moved away from the field to win the senior gold medal some five seconds ahead of Ethiopia's Senbere Teferi. This made the 19-year-old the second-youngest winner of that title in championships history, after Zola Budd's win in 1985, and also brought her Kenya's 300th medal at the competition.[16] With Ethiopia rounding out the top four and defending champion Chebet in sixth, Kenya were beaten into second in the team race.[17]

In 2017 she participated in the World Championships held in London, winning the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres event, with a time of 31:03.50, her personal best in the distance.[18]

Personal bests – outdoor

The following information is from the International Association of Athletics Federations.[19]

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2012 African Cross Country Championships Cape Town, South Africa 2nd Junior race
World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 3rd 5000 m 15:36.74
2013 World Cross Country Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 2nd Junior race 17:51
1st Junior team
2014 African Cross Country Championships Kampala, Uganda 1st Junior race 18:51
1st Junior team
World Junior Championships Eugene, United States 3rd 5000 m 15:43.12
2015 World Cross Country Championships Guiyang, China 1st Senior race 26:01
2nd Senior team
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 3rd 10,000 m 31:03.50
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 3rd 10,000 m 30:25.20

References
  1. Eurosport.com. Agnes Jebet Tirop. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  2. Mutuota, Mutwiri (18 February 2012). Karoki and Chepkirui steal the headlines in Nairobi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  3. Williamson, Norrie (19 March 2012). Langat and Chepkirui take African XC titles in Cape Town. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  4. Martin, David (22 July 2012). Gemili posts championship record on superb night in Barcelona – day two evening report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  5. Valiente, Emeterio (11 July 2012). Barcelona 2012 – Event Report – Women's 5000m Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  6. Mutuota, Mutwiri (16 February 2013).Rono and Muriuki win Kenyan World Cross Trials in Nairobi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  7. Bamford, Nicola (24 March 2013). Kipyegon majestic in title defence – Bydgoszcz 2013 junior women's report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  8. Agnes Jebet Tirop Progression. IAAF. Retrieved on 28 March 2015.
  9. Mutuota, Mutwiri (15 February 2014). Karoki and Kipyegon win in Nairobi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  10. Kenya makes a clean sweep at African Cross Country Championships. IAAF (16 March 2014). Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  11. Robinson, Javier Clavelo (24 July 2014). Report: women's 5000m – IAAF World Junior Championships, Oregon 2014. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  12. Mills, Steven (26 January 2015). Emerging Tirop dominates in Eldoret – cross-country round-up. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  13. Mutuota, Mutwiri (14 February 2015). Karoki and Kipyegon successfully defend Kenyan cross-country titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  14. Sammet, Michelle (24 March 2015). Senior women's preview – IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Guiyang 2015. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  15. Results Senior Race Women. IAAF. Retrieved on 28 March 2015.
  16. Sammet, Michelle (28 March 2015). Teenage talent Tirop triumphs in Guiyang. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  17. Whittington, Jessica (28 March 2015). Agnes Tirop wins senior women’s World Cross title in China. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  18. "10,000 Metres Women − Final − Results" (PDF). International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  19. Agnes Jebet Tirop Personal bests. IAAF. Retrieved on 14 August 2020
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