Paul Bitok
Olympic medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Men's Athletics | ||
Representing Kenya | ||
Barcelona 1992 | 5000 metres | |
Atlanta 1996 | 5000 metres |
Paul Bitok (born June 26, 1970 in Kilibwoni, Nandi) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who won two silver medals at consecutive Summer Olympics (1992, 1996) over 5000 metres. Bitok emerged in 1992 as a relatively unknown athlete. He qualified for the Barcelona Games at the Kenyan trials and defeated several world class athletes at the Bislett Games in Oslo. By the time of the Olympics he had established himself as one of the favourites. He narrowly lost the final to Dieter Baumann of Germany. A few weeks later he won the 5000 m race in Zurich. In the following years Bitok did not match his performances of 1992. However, by 1996 he was back and won another silver in Atlanta. He also won two World Indoor silvers (1997, 1999) in the 3000 metres behind Haile Gebrselassie.
He is married to Pauline Konga, who won the silver medal in women's 5000 metres at the 1996 Olympics, becoming the first Kenyan female Olympic medalist.[1]
References
- ↑ Post-Gazette, May 6, 2002: The Pathfinders
External links
- Paul Bitok profile at IAAF
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- IAAF ID different in Wikidata
- 1970 births
- Living people
- Kenyan long-distance runners
- Kenyan middle-distance runners
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Olympic athletes of Kenya
- Olympic silver medalists for Kenya
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- People from Nandi County
- Kenyan athletics biography stubs
- Kenyan sportspeople stubs
- African Olympic medalist stubs