Paul Lonyangata

Paul Kipchumba Lonyangata (born 12 December 1992) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running events. He is a marathon runner with a personal best of 2:06:10 and has won marathons in Lisbon, Shanghai, Taipei and Paris. He was a bronze medallist at the World Junior Championships in Athletics in 2010.

Lonyangata at the 2014 Boston Marathon

Career

His first success in running came over 10,000 metres at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He and Dennis Masai used team work to reach the podium, Masai as champion and Lonyangata as bronze medallist.[1] He competed on the European track running circuit in 2010 and 2011 and scored several top three finishes in second-tier level meetings, such as the Palio della Quercia and the Barcelona Meet.[2] He began working with Italian coach Gabriele Rosa and, training alongside another Kenyan Joel Kimurer, he moved towards road running instead after 2011.[3] He had his first win at the Tegla Loroupe Peace Race in 2011.[4]

In 2012 he placed in the top ten at the World's Best 10K then had a quick half marathon debut of 59:53 minutes at the Berlin Half Marathon. Travelling to the United States, after a fifth-place finish at the Peachtree Road Race he closed his season in the runner-up spot at the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon.[2] A marathon debut followed at the beginning of 2013 and he was second in a time of 2:07:44 hours at the Xiamen Marathon.[3] This placed him near the world's top forty runners for the year.[5] On his next outing, however, he failed to finish at the Linz Marathon.[2] His fortunes reversed that September with his first at the distance at the Lisbon Marathon. He was one second off his best at the RAK Half Marathon at the start of 2014 and this preceded his entry to his first major race: the 2014 Boston Marathon.[3]

Lonyangata reached the top ten at the Boston Marathon and also finished runner-up at the Honolulu Marathon that year. He changed coaching arrangements, moving back to Kenyan to Kaptagat to work with former runner James Kwambai. Lonyangata married a fellow runner, Purity Cherotich Rionoripo, during this period.[6] He missed most of the 2015 season, but returned in strong form at the Shanghai Marathon, winning in 2:07:14 hours – a course record.[7] A return at the 2016 Boston Marathon saw him improve upon his finish two years earlier, as he closed the race in fifth position.[8]

In 2019, he competed in the men's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar.[9] He did not finish his race.[9]

Personal life

Lonyangata is married to Kenyan runner Purity Rionoripo.[10]

Personal bests

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2010 World Junior Championships Moncton, Canada 3rd 10,000 m 28:14.55
2013 Xiamen International Marathon Xiamen, China 2nd Marathon 2:07:44
Lisbon Marathon Lisbon, Spain 1st Marathon 2:09:45
2014 Boston Marathon Boston, United States 9th Marathon 2:12:34
Honolulu Marathon Honolulu, United States 2nd Marathon 2:16:04
2015 Shanghai International Marathon Shanghai, China 1st Marathon 2:07:14
2016 Boston Marathon Boston, United States 5th Marathon 2:15:45
Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 4th Marathon 2:13:17
2017 Paris Marathon Paris, France 1st Marathon 2:06:10
2018 Paris Marathon Paris, France 1st Marathon 2:06:25
2019 Paris Marathon Paris, France 3rd Marathon 2:07:29
Shanghai International Marathon Shanghai, China 1st Marathon 2:08:11

Road race wins

References
  1. Morse, Parker (2010-07-21). Men's 10,000m Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-05-19.
  2. Paul Kipchumba Longanyata. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2016-05-19.
  3. Paul Lonyangata. Boston Marathon. Retrieved on 2016-05-19.
  4. Guns kept aside. The Standard (2011-11-13). Retrieved on 2012-02-18.
  5. senior outdoor 2013 Marathon men. IAAF (2013). Retrieved on 2016-05-19.
  6. Paul Lonyanagata. Boston Marathon. Retrieved on 2016-05-19.
  7. Wu, Vincent (2015-11-08). Lonyangata sets course record at Shanghai Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-05-19.
  8. 2016 Boston Marathon Top 20 Finisher. Competitor (2016-04-18). Retrieved on 2016-05-19.
  9. "Marathon Men − Final − Results" (PDF). IAAF. 5 October 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  10. "IAAF: Husband-wife duo Lonyangata and Rionoripo take Paris marathon crowns- News - iaaf.org". iaaf.org. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
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