Emmanuel Kipkirui Korir broke into the limelight during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games when he produced one of the greatest performances in his career to successfully defend the title won by his compatriot David Rudisha during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro edition.
However, despite his recent stellar performances, people know very little about him. TeamKenya.co.ke takes a deep dive into Korir’s epic journey to stardom.
Korir was born on June 15, 1995 in Iten, Elgeyo/Marakwet County. After completing his primary school education, he was admitted at St Francis High School Kimuron, a school that has produced other champions like reigning 800m world record holder David Rudisha.
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It was at Kimuron high school that the foundation for Korir’s career was built. While at school, he used to train with other upcoming runners. During school holidays, he would pitch camp at St Patrick's High school Iten to sharpen his skills under the tutelage of renowned athletics coach Brother Colm O’Connell since he came from a village near the learning institution.
The 2018 Monaco Diamond League 800m winner would then travel to the United States after completing his post primary education. He joined the University of Texas at El Paso, where he recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology - the study of movement.
At the University of Texas, Korir used to compete in the 400m race. He broke several records over the distance before being convinced by former Kenyan runner Paul Ereng to switch to the 800m race. Ereng himself who won a 800m gold medal for Kenya at the 1988 Olympic Games, started his career as a 400m runner.
Speaking in 2018 about the newly crowned champion, Ereng stated that Korir needed time to mature.
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"He’s growing older and more mature. Last year was his first international race at a high level. He came up strong but was also disappointed that he was injured,”
“I gave him a shock, but I told him in sport these things happen and I told him he needs to work himself back into good health and do it once more.” Ereng told Daily Nation.
His first competitive race in Kenya was at the Kenya championships in 2016 where he came a distance 8th. However, that disappointment did not stop Korir from training hard.
A few years later, he earned a place in Kenya’s team for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. In Tokyo, Korir defeated the bigwigs in the race including teammate Ferguson Rotich to win Kenya a 800m gold medal.
At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Korir was one of the few athletes who won Kenya a gold medal. He ran a well-calculated race, allowing his main opponent Canada’s Marco Arop to lead for most part of the race before outpacing him in the final 150m to bag Kenya’s second gold medal at the championships staged in Eugene, United States.
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