Exclusive: Small Villages in Iten That are The Cradle of Athletic Superstars

If you do a search on Google Images for Iten, many of the results will show a single arch that stands at the entrance to the town.

The arch has a message painted across the top: “WELCOME TO ITEN: HOME OF CHAMPIONS”. If you had to describe Iten in three words, “Home of Champions” are three very good choicesNo town has given athletics more champions than Iten. It has produced Olympic medalists, world champions, and Big City Marathon winners.

In 2020, Iten was awarded a World Athletics Heritage Plaque for an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field and out-of-stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain road running, trail and ultra running, and race walking.

Some of the world beaters who come from the town include former marathon champion Joycilline Jepkosgei, women's only world marathon record holder Mary Keitany, 800m world record holder David Rudisha, former 5,000m silver medalist Sylvia Kibet, and former world cross country champion Irene Cheptai.

However, some villages have over the years gained notoriety for producing world-class athletes and influential people who have subsequently influenced the country in some way.

Sing’ore Village

This village is located eight kilometers North of Iten, next to the Kapchenutwa Forest. Its settlements are dispersed throughout the forested countryside.

The still-green flora and fauna greet you as you enter the village. There's also smoke from the area's mostly mud-thatched houses and moos from grazing cattle. There are so many aspiring athletes in Sing'ore that if you throw a stone, you will almost certainly hit an athlete's head.

Despite the lack of luxury facilities, the athletes take pride in training on the muddy roads and rough patches that run alongside the tracks, which have produced world-class athletes. The small village has also been used as a training ground for international athletes preparing for major sporting events around the world.

Coaches and athletes have previously attributed the small village's success to the high altitude all year. Some of those athletes that are looked up to include:

Alice Kibor

Alice has had an impressive run with various marathon titles under her name including the 2018 Roma Marathon in Italy (2:28:19), the 2017 Marrakech Marathon (2:32:28), the 2019 Gold Coast Marathon in Australia (2:36:02), and the 2017 Athens Classic Marathon in Greece (2:34:22).

She is among the athletes who have set records that these budding ones are set to break.

Hellen Kimutai

She began her career in cross country running, finishing fourth in the junior race at the 1993 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where Kenya won the team gold medal with a perfect score. In 2000, she set a course record of 1:05:28 hours to win the 20 Kilomètres de Paris.

Her personal best time is 2:25:53, which she set in April 2003 when she won the Hamburg Marathon. Her first senior international competition was at the 2005 World Athletics Championships, where she finished ninth in the marathon for Kenya.

She also won the Milan Marathon in 2005 and the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon in 2007. She competed in the marathon for Kenya at the 2007 World Athletics Championships, finishing in 25th place.

She came in second place at the 2009 Berlin Half Marathon. She won the Vienna City Marathon in 2:31:08, completing the course in 2:31:08.

In October 2010, she competed in the Frankfurt Marathon, finishing ninth. Her two marathon finishes in 2011 were fifth at the Madrid Marathon and third at the Baltimore Marathon. In 2012, she won the Rome City Marathon.

Anthony Kiprono

Kiprono rose to prominence after representing Kenya in the World Cross-Country Championships and winning lucrative races abroad. Kiprono won gold in several national and international events, amassing a sizable fortune in the process.

Charity Chirchir is also one of the stars nurtured in this village.

Korkitony Village

Approximately 20 kilometers from Sing’ore village is Korkitony village which is home to several national athletes, including former world 3000m steeplechase champion Raymond Yator. He grew up in Kendur within Korkitony and attended St Peters Marakwet Boys High School.

He took a medal at the Weltklasse Zurich (8:15:31) at the age of 18 at the 1999 African Junior Athletics Championship in a championship record. In addition, he set a world junior record that placed him as the fourth fastest in the world that year and moved into the world’s all-time top ten for distance at the point.

His younger brother Albert Yator also followed in his footsteps and won a world junior steeplechase medal in 2010, but died of malaria in 2011 before pursuing a senior career.

Brimin Kipruto, the 2008 Beijing Olympics 3,000m steeplechase gold medalist, is also one of Korkitony's athletic stars.

He graduated from Kipsoen Secondary School in 2003, the same year he won silver in Cameroon. He also won gold in the steeplechase at the World Championships in Osaka in 2007.

Kipruto also won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics before finishing seventh at the World Championships in 2009. The region has also produced stars such as former 800m star Vincent Malakwen.

Other villages in Iten that have birthed talents include Kapkoi, Kapteren, Sambirir, Kapkitony, and Kombatich villages.

Despite this, Sports Expert Dr. Byron Kipchumba was concerned that many athletes no longer identify with their villages, preferring to attribute their success to athletics management and training clubs rather than where they were born.

“The role of primary schools in nurturing talents in villages waned, and that is why many athletes identify with training clubs. The training clubs have gained fame because the sport is now commercialized.

Unlike in the past, it is rare to get athletes to mention their villages when introducing themselves.” Kipchumba said.

Most aspiring athletes here have a simple goal: to get out of poverty. The majority of the athletes here are emulating elite runners, while others are likely to be the perfect replacements for the current athletes.

“I want to be like the great athletes that this area has produced. I will join the list,” a determined budding athlete Cynthia Chepkemoi explains.

Villages that produce superstars

Korkitony: Elgeyo Marakwet

Brimin Kipruto

Vincent Malakwen

Raymond Yator

Kapkoi/Kapteren: Elgeyo Marakwet

Edna Kiplagat

Rose Cheruiyot

Suter Chemweno

Sambirir: Elgeyo Marakwet

Moses Kiptanui

Richard Chelimo (The late)

Ishmael Kirui

Wilberforce Talel