Kimetto’s rise from PEASANT to world beater in Berlin streets

Dennis Kimetto of Kenya poses next to the timekeeping vehicle displaying his new world record, as he celebrates during the awards ceremony for the 41st Berlin marathon, September 28, 2014.

Less than three years ago, Dennis Kimetto, was a peasant farmer struggling to make ends meet by cultivating and selling maize and potatoes at the local market of the remote Kapng’etuny village deep in the vast Kenyan Rift Valley.
On Sunday, Kimetto took on the streets of Berlin and when he was done, he stood in the middle step of the podium as the king of marathon running when he ran the unbelievable 2:02:57* the first man to go under 2:03 in history in setting a new world record.
“I was not expecting to break the world record but when I looked at my watch, I decided to push for it. I know I can go faster but to what time, I don’t know,” the athlete of few words said in the aftermath of his record breaking feat as the world’s gaze shone the spotlight on him.
The now World Marathon Majors (WMM) champion saw his life transformed dramatically when he was persuaded by two-time New York Marathon champion, Geoffrey Mutai to join his training group as one of the pacemakers for the star who had broken into the scene by winning bronze in 10,000m at the 2010 Africa Championships in Athletics held in Nairobi.
“I knew I had talent in running and would do so around the village for fun but I could not sponsor myself to enter races or travel to participate since I was a simple farmer selling few crops in my parent’s shamba (farm),” Kimetto said.
“It was then Geoffrey approached me and asked me to join his camp and after sometime, he sponsored me with training kit, shoes and money to enter races such as the Kass Marathon and Stanchart Marathon where I won the 10km races. That is where it all started,” the 30 year-old narrated.
In 2012, he was escorted to the altar by his mentor, Mutai in Berlin, returning 2:04:16, that ranks among the fastest marathon debuts in history.
He came to his own last year, winning the two WMM races he took part, the February 24 Tokyo race in 2:06:50, a course record and in October he made the world stand and take notice when he tore up the old 2:04:24 Chicago course record to leave the new route best standing at a staggering 2:03:45.
Those jaw-dropping results combined with his forceful front-running have earned him comparisons with four-time Boston Marathon champion and first men’s WMM winner (2006/07) Robert Cheruiyot and his peers have even given him his “Mwafrika” (Swahili language, means African) nickname.
“Yeah,” he chuckles, “They are calling me ‘Mwafrika’ and I wish I get to be as successful as him but my aim is to break the world record before I compete in eight marathons.”
“If all goes according to plan, I will enter the Boston marathon next April and try to win it like Geoffrey (2012) and Robert and later in September, Berlin where I want to try the world record for the first time,” Kimetto disclosed after his amazing run in Chicago.
Besides Mutai, Wilson Kipsang is another of his training mates and he came to within 22 seconds of breaking the previous 2:03:23 world record set in Berlin last year.
“To be honest, I was not aware I was in world record pace since no one told us and there was no lead car ahead of us. I don’t know why this happened and I don’t want to speculate but at the end of the race, I had so much energy and when I looked at the clock at the end, I knew a huge chance had passed,” he said.
“When I saw Dennis win, I felt so happy since his victory was for us all. I assisted him to start his career and sponsored him to local races since if he did well there, then it meant he had the capability to run well abroad,” said his mentor Mutai, who held on to his New York title last year 2:08:24.
“I then introduced him to my manager (Gerard Van Der Veen) who organised races for him abroad and having seen what he did in Chicago, then I’m confident he will bring the world record in future,” said Mutai.

“When you train with guys like Geoffrey and Wilson, you realise there are no jokes involved when aiming for the top. It’s about hard training and a lot of pain to get into shape since there is many talented guys out there,” he said.
“In Chicago for example, I faced Emmanuel (Mutai) who had more experience and tough to beat and it’s only because I was sure I was in good shape that is why I broke away from him in the last two kilometres.”