Gilbert Kipruto Kirwa (born 20 December 1985) is a Kenyan athlete who specialises in long-distance running and the marathon. His personal best for the marathon is 2:06:14 hours and has won races in Vienna and Frankfurt.
A Nandi from Nandi Hills, Kenya, Kirwa had no background in running when a friend, the Ugandan professional runner Nicholas Kiprono, asked him to begin training with him in 2005. Based on what he had seen in training, Jason Mbote asked if Kirwa would be a pacemaker for him at the 2008 Seoul International Marathon in South Korea. This was the first time Kirwa had left Kenya, and his first ever international competition, but he set a strong pace up to the 33 kilometre mark and athletics agent Gerard van de Veen signed him on the strength of the run.[1]
He made his competitive debut in 2009, to much success: he won the Vienna Marathon with a time of 2:08:21, in what was he first ever attempt at the distance.[2] He won the Hamburg Half Marathon in June with a best of 1:01:52,[3] won the 10 km race in Wierden the following month,[4] and took third at the Loopfestijn Voorthuizen 10 km race.[5] Running in the Frankfurt Marathon in October, his second race at the distance, he beat the defending champion Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot and also broke the course record. His time of 2:06:14 ranked among the top-twenty fastest marathons on record. The win at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race earned the runner €95,000 in prize money and bonuses.[6] Following this result, Kirwa stated his career ambition to challenge Haile Gebrselassie's world record.[1]
He signed up for the 2010 Seoul International Marathon but was beaten to the finish line by surprise winner Sylvester Teimet. Kirwa's time of 2:06:59 for a silver medal was the second fastest ever marathon recorded in South Korea after Teimet's winning time.[7] He ran the BIG 25K in Berlin in May and ran significantly faster than the world record pace, but still his mark of 1:11:58 was not enough to beat the race winner Samuel Kosgei.[8] In 2011 he ran at the Amsterdam Marathon, but slowed significantly in the second half, finishing in a time of 2:14:29 hours. His first race of 2012 was the Vienna Marathon and he came fourth in a time of 2:08:09 hours.[9] He tried for another win in Frankfurt that October but ended the race in third, as world record holder Patrick Makau took the victory.[10]
He ran two marathons in 2013: first he was sixth at the Tokyo Marathon, then he returned to Frankfurt, but failed to finish the race on that occasion.[11] He was third at the Seoul International Marathon in March 2014, running his second fastest ever time with 2:06:44 hours.[12]
| Representing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Vienna, Austria | 1st | 2:08:21 | ||
| Frankfurt, Germany | 1st | 2:06:14 | |||
| 2010 | Seoul Marathon | Seoul, South Korea | 2nd | 2:06:59 | |
| Surface | Event | Time (h:m:s) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road | Half marathon | 1:01:52 | Hamburg | 28 June 2009 |
| 25 kilometres | 1:11:58 | Berlin | 9 May 2010 | |
| Marathon | 2:06:14 | Frankfurt | 25 October 2009 |