When I was your age... :
While growing up in Kapsabet, Kenya Lagat ran a mile-and-a-half to and from school each day. But he didn’t become serious about running competitively until he was attending college at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta University College of Agriculture and Technology. His career blossomed after moving to the U.S. when he received a track scholarship from Washington State.Chasing El Guerrouj:
Lagat was a step – 12-hundredths of a second, to be precise – behind Hicham El Guerrouj at both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. In 2000 Lagat won the bronze and El Guerrouj the silver. In 2004 Lagat edged in front of his rival down the final stretch, but the Moroccan pulled ahead to earn the gold while Lagat settled for silver.American citizen:
Lagat became a U.S. citizen on May 7, 2004 but kept the information quiet so he could run in the 2004 Olympics. Under IAAF rules, an athlete changing national affiliation must wait three years before competing for a new country. Lagat became eligible to run for the U.S. at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships, where he won both the 1500 and 5000 meter events. He was the first American man to win the 1500 at the World Outdoor Championships, the first American man to win any medal in the 5000 and the first runner from any nation to win both distance events at the same World Outdoor Championship competition.Career highlights:
In addition to his Olympic medals and 2007 World Championship victories, Lagat was the 2004 World Indoor champion at 3000 meters. He earned 1500-meter silver medals at the 2001 World Outdoors and 2003 World Indoors. Prior to the 2008 Olympic Trials he’d won three U.S. Outdoor Championships (one at 1500, two at 5000).At Washington State in 1999, Lagat won the mile and 3000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships and the 5000 at the NCAA Outdoors. He holds the U.S. indoor records at 1500 (3:33.34), one mile (3:49.89) and 3000 (7:32.43) plus the outdoor 1500 mark (3:29.30). He’s been ranked no lower than No. 4 in the world in the 1500 dating to 1999. He finished 2007 ranked No. 2 in the world at 1500 meters, No. 3 at 3000 and No. 4 at 5000.
The stats:
- Height: 5-8
- Weight: 134
- Age: 33
- Birth date: December 12, 1974
- Hometown: Kapsabet, Kenya
- World Championships: Three (two outdoor, one indoor)
