Headercolor: | lightblue |
Francis Kirwa | |
Fullname: | Francis Chepsiror Kirwa |
Residence: | Lahti, Finland |
Birth Date: | 28 November 1974 |
Birth Place: | Rift Valley Province, Kenya |
Weight: | 600NaN0 |
Sport: | Athletics |
Event: | Marathon |
Club: | Lahden Ahkera (FIN) |
Coach: | Timo Vuorimaa |
Pb: | Marathon: 2:11:01 (2008) |
Francis Chepsiror Kirwa (born November 28, 1974) is a Finnish marathon runner of Kenyan origin.[1] In 2005, he adopted Finnish nationality in order to compete internationally in the marathon, and run for his home nation at the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki. He also set a personal best of 2:11:01 by winning the gold medal at the Maratona Sant’Antonio in Padua, Italy.[2]
Kirwa represented his adopted nation Finland at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed for the men's marathon. He successfully finished the race in fourteenth place by twenty-two seconds behind Spain's José Manuel Martínez, outside his personal best time of 2:14:22.[3]
Kirwa currently resides in Lahti, since he left from Kenya in 2002. He also trains full-time for marathon and cross-country races at Lahden Ahkera, under his personal and head coach Timo Vuorimaa.