A soldier in the Kenya Airforce, Tergat’s claim to fame is that He won the world cross country championships 5 times. Tergat also held the world 10,000 metres record and won silver medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and the 1997 world championships. Tergat later switched to the marathon where he won the London marathon, Berlin marathon and set a world record in the process. He also won the New York Marathon in 2005. A year earlier he had set the world record in the marathon.

Paul Kibii Tergat was born on June 17 1969 in Riwo Baringo District in Kenya’s Rift Valley province. His running career begaun to take shape only after he had finished secondary school at Kapkawa secondary school. He won the world cross country championships 5 times in a row from 1995 to 1999.He won silver medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics finishing behind his arch rival Haile Gebreselassie by the narrowest of margins. He won the gold medals at the 1999 and 2000 world half marathon championships.

Tergat set to world records. In 1997 he set the world record in the mens 10,000m with a time of with a time 26:27.85 minutes. In April of 1998 he set the world half marathon record with a time of 59:17 minutes.

In September of 2003 he set the world record in the marathon with a time of 2:04:55 hrs while winning the Berlin marathon. He won the New York marathon of 2006.