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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Ngong, KEN |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Kenya Police: Kenya |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | She received treatment for a muscle injury in Monaco, which stopped her running for much of 2011. (capitalfm.co.ke, 03 Aug 2011) |
| Famous relatives | Her father, Michael Busienei, was an 800m runner. (nation.co.ke, 22 Jul 2011) |
| Hero / Idol | Wilfred Bungei, Wilson Kipketer and Paul Ereng. (eastandard.net, 02 Apr 2006) |
| Ambitions | "It is about time I do something unique. I want to double up 800m and 1,500m in the Olympics." (nation.co.ke, 22 Jul 2011) |
| Awards and honours | She became the first Kenyan woman to win a medal in the 800m at a world championships after winning gold medal in 2007 in Osaka, Japan. (runningtimes.com, 29 Aug 2007) Received the 'Kenyan Sportswoman of the Year' award in 2006. (iaaf.org, 01 Sep 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Claudio Berendelli |
| Training Regime | Since 2000 she has spent half the year [from April until September] training in Brescia, Italy and the rest of the year in Eldoret, Kenya. |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She took up athletics at Kapsombeiwo Primary School. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Eldoret Express. (nation.co.ke, 22 Jul 2011) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Coach from which country? | Italy |
General Interest | |
| Other information | VILLAGE OF CHAMPIONS She hails from the Kenyan village of Kaprisang, in Nandi Central, which has produced such athletes as former world champion Wilson Kipketer, Sammy Kosgei and Henry Rono, who broke four world records in just 81 days in 1978. The village boasts a collection of more than 30 medals with the highest number of Olympic, World, Commonwealth and Africa champions in 800m in history. (nation.co.ke, 22 Jul 2011) CHANGING EVENTS She started athletics as a 400m hurdler and ended up switching to the 800m almost by accident. She said, "I took up 800m during the selection of 1999 World Youth team. There were no hurdles and I decided to switch to 800m." (nation.co.ke, 22 Jul 2011) CHAMPION She won gold in the 800m at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka making her the first Kenyan woman to win gold in a middle distance race at a global event. She took gold from the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, but went home with silver two years later at the Beijing Olympics. (nation.co.ke, 22 Jul 2011, letsrun.com, 04 Sep 2011, iaaf.org, 01 Sep 2010) MOTHER FIGURE She acts as a mentor to Eunice Sum, and hopes her guidance will mean Kenya remains at the top of women's 800m running. "I noticed [Eunice] when I went to watch school games and for one year, she disappeared completely. When I finally found her, I was very happy since here was someone who could compete and do well since she is very talented," she said. (capitalfm.co.ke, 03 Aug 2011) |