Caroline Rotich

Caroline Rotich (born 13 May 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon races. She has won the Las Vegas Marathon, New York Half Marathon and the Boston Marathon. She represented Kenya at the World Championships in Athletics in 2011 and has personal bests of 2:23:22 for the marathon and 1:09:09 for the half marathon.

Caroline Rotich
Caroline Rotich, female winner of 2015 Boston Marathon approaching halfway point
Personal information
NationalityKenyan
Born (1984-05-13) May 13, 1984
Nyahururu, Kenya
EducationGraduated from Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School
Sport
SportLong-distance running

Biography

Born in Nyahururu, Rotich gained a sports scholarship in Japan at Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School – an institution known for long-distance running (attended by athletes such as Samuel Wanjiru).[1] She began competing in Europe after graduating and won the 2004 Diecimiglia del Garda in Italy and the Semi-marathon Marvejols-Mende in 2005.[2][3] She made her debut over the marathon distance in 2006 at the Nairobi Marathon, finishing in eleventh place. She moved to the United States to train and became based there full-time.

In May 2008, Rotich won the Ogden Newspapers 20K and came fourth at the Bay to Breakers 12K. A month later she ran a half marathon best of 74:40 minutes for second at Grandma's Marathon and won the Hospital Hill Half Marathon.[4] She began training with Ryan Bolton's Harambee Running Club at the start of 2009 had top three finishes in the half marathon at the Yuengling, Cobán, Spiriti of Columbus and Grandma's Marathon races.[5] A career breakthrough came with a win at the Las Vegas Marathon, where she crossed the line in a time of 2:29:47 hours and won "Battle of the Sexes" race against the men.[6]

In 2010, Rotich set a new 10K best of 32:43 minutes at the New York Mini 10K, she was runner-up at the Crim 10-Miler and won the Grandma's half marathon and Boston Half Marathon. She improved her marathon best by one second at the New York City Marathon, taking eighth place.[1] She worked her way up into the top of the Kenyan rankings in 2011. She ran a personal best and course record of 68:52 minutes to win the New York Half Marathon,[7] then came fourth at the 2011 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:24:26 on the downhill course, which gained her selection for the Kenyan national team.[8] She won the Bix 7-Miler in July then finished 29th in the marathon at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics.[9] She ended the year with a personal best run of 2:27:06 hours at the 2011 New York City Marathon.[10]

Rotich began 2012 at the New York Half Marathon, but did not defend her title and came eighth. She was among the leaders halfway through the 2012 Boston Marathon, but dropped out after 30 km.[11] She won the Crim 10-Miler with a personal best run of 53:43 minutes and completed her first marathon at the 2012 Chicago Marathon, where her time of 2:23:22 hours was enough for fifth position.[12]

In 2013, Rotich began by winning again the NYC Half Marathon just ahead of Diane Nukuri.[13] A win at the Prague Marathon followed in May.[14]

Rotich won the 2015 Boston Marathon on April 20, with a winning time of 2:24:55.[15] That November, she placed 10th in 2:33:19 TCS New York City Marathon.[16]

In 2022 Rotich set a new personal best time in the 10K distance at the New York Mini 10K. She finished 8th overall with a time of 31:30.[17]

Personal bests

Legacy

The New Mexico state legislature declared 28 February 2017 as the “Caroline Rotich Day” in recognition of her running accomplishments.[18]

References
  1. Caroline Rotich Archived 2015-02-14 at the Wayback Machine. Camp Marafiki. Retrieved on 13 May 2012.
  2. Diecimiglia del Garda. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (9 August 2011). Retrieved on 13 May 2012.
  3. Marvejols-Mende 22.4 km. ARRS (25 July 2011). Retrieved on 13 May 2012.
  4. Hospital Hill Half Marathon. ARRS (6 June 2011). Retrieved on 13 May 2012.
  5. Caroline Rotich. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 13 May 2012.
  6. Cruz, Dan (7 December 2009). "Rotich and Toroitich collect Marathon wins in Las Vegas". IAAF. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  7. "Farah triumphs in Half Marathon debut in New York". IAAF. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  8. Monti, David (18 April 2011). "Strong winds and ideal conditions propel Mutai to fastest Marathon ever - Boston Marathon report". IAAF. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  9. Kass, Glenn (2 August 2011). Quad-City Times Bix 7 mile. ARRS. Retrieved on 13 May 2012.
  10. 2011 Results Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine. New York Road Runners. Retrieved on 8 November 2011.
  11. Huebner, Barbara (April 2012). "It was a duel to the finish, as Kenya's Sharon Cherop unleashes kick on Boylston Street to pull away from Jelagat Sumgong". Boston Athletic Association. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  12. 2012 Chicago Marathon results. Chicago Marathon. Retrieved on 2 February 2013.
  13. Battaglia, Joe (17 March 2013). "Wilson Kipsang gives high octane performance at chilly NYC Half". IAAF. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  14. Wenig, Jörg (12 May 2013). "Kemboi and Rotich claim good wins in Prague Marathon". IAAF. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  15. "Caroline Rotich Sprints to Victory in 119th Boston Marathon". Boston Athletic Association. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  16. "Overall Women". TCS New York City Marathon. 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  17. New York Mini 10k Results NYRR Mini 10K. Retrieved on 17 June 2022.
  18. "Caroline Rotich". www.nyrr.org. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.