Kenya is known to produce top athletes who dominate the track races in various sporting events.
Since way back many of these athletes hail from the Rift Valley part of Kenya with a few athletes coming from other regions.
This sometimes is attributed to the weather and climate in Rift Valley that is conducive for athletes, however, TeamKenya looks at some of the breakthrough athletes from the least sporting communities.
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Ferdinand Omanyala
Ferdinand Omanyala who hails from Bungoma County is currently the African record holder and 8th fastest man of all time in the 100 metres.
Omanyala set both the National and African record in September 2021, after clocking a time of 9.77 in Nairobi.
Omanyala began his sporting career while in high school where he played rugby and missed a chance of joining the Kenya Sevens Rugby team.
Due to his impressive sprinting he joined athletics in the 100 metres docket where he passed his trials at Athletics Kenya relays qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.
Since his debut at the Tokyo Olympics Omanyala has had quite a successful career and currently works at the National Police Service (NPS).
Emmanuel Wanyonyi
One of Kenya's rising stars in the field track races is Emmanuel Wanyonyi who stunned many after he won gold for Kenya in the 10,000m race walking at the Under 20 Championships at Kasarani Stadium.
Wanyonyi, who sat KCSE exams in 2021, dreams of studying Sports Management when he finally joins college.
The 17-year-old was inspired to take up race walking by his primary school teacher and learnt the craft through YouTube following in the footsteps of Kenya's successful javelin thrower Julius Yego.
Hellen Obiri
Obiri who hails from the county of Kisii started her love for track running when she was just a child in primary school.
The star, a Kenya Defence Forces officer, was introduced to professional racing by Noah Ngeny a former 2000 Sydney Olympic champion.
She is the current 5000 metres champion after winning gold in the 2017 World Championships in London.
In 2019 she set a new championship record after successfully defending her title at the 2019 World Championships, in Doha.
Samuel Wanjiru
Samuel Wanjiru was one of the most talented athletes in his generation with his remarkable victory at the 2008 Olympics games.
Wanjiru in 2008 became the first Kenyan Olympic Champion in the Olympics, also becoming the youngest Olympic Marathon champion at 21 years.
His career started when he was a teenager back in 2005 when he won the half marathon in Rotterdam with a time of 59:16. This was considered the fastest ever performance from a junior athlete.
Unfortunately, his career was short-lived as he passed away in May 2011 in controversial circumstances.
Patrick Makau Musyoki
Patrick Makau Musyoki, best known simply as Patrick Makau, is a former marathon world record holder.
He is also known for his dominance at the half-marathon distance as he twice earned a silver medal at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, in 2007 and 2008.
He is also a former world record holder in the marathon recording 2:03:38 at the 2011 Berlin Marathon.
This record lasted for two years before it was broken by Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich at the 2013 Berlin Marathon.
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