KIPYEGO Sally

United States of America
Athletics
19 Dec 1985
35
Female
 
Kenya
EUGENE, OR
 
United States of America

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
ATH Athletics Women's Marathon 17

Schedule

Change
Start Time Location Event Status
Sapporo Odori Park
Women's Marathon Final
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

:
Olympic Games
YearLocation5000m10,000m
2012London, GBR4th (15:05.79)2nd (30:26.37)

World Athletics Championships
YearLocation10,000m
2015Beijing, CHN5th (31:44.42)
2011Daegu, KOR2nd (30:50.04)

World Marathon Majors
RankEventYearLocationResult
2Marathon2016/2017New York, NY, USA2:28:01
7Marathon2018/2019Berlin, GER2:25:10


Legend
SF - Semifinal, QF - Quarterfinal, 1R - 1st Round, Qual. - Qualification, QR - Qualification Round, DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, DQ - Disqualified, NM - No Mark, [Relay athlete without time] - Did not run in final
:
Reading, cooking. (teamusa.org, 29 Feb 2020)
:
Athlete
:
Nursing - Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA
:
Husband Kevin Chelimo, daughter Emma [2017]
:
English, Swahili
:
Oregon Track Club Elite [Eugene, OR, USA]
:
Mark Rowland [club], GBR
:
Her older brother Michael Kipyego has competed in marathon and 3000m steeplechase at international level, including at the world championships in 2013. Her other older brother Christopher Kipyego has also competed in marathon at international level. Her husband Kevin Chelimo finished 10th in the 2015 New York Marathon in the United States of America. (SportsDeskOnline, 18 Apr 2020; IAAF, 21 Jun 2014; nation.co.ke, 17 Jul 2011)
:
She missed the 2016 indoor season after injuring her knee in a fall at the 2015 New York Marathon in the United States of America. (oregonlive.com, 06 Apr 2016)

She missed the 2013 season because of a foot injury. (allafrica.com, 30 Jul 2015)

In 2002 she suffered a stress fracture to her left tibia [shinbone] that prevented her from running for about three years. (IAAF, 21 Jul 2012)
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She took up running while at Kaptung Primary School in Kenya. (IAAF, 21 Jul 2012)
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She was inspired to take up the sport by her older brothers Mike and Christopher. (nation.co.ke, 17 Jul 2011)
:
To win gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (kcbd.com, 01 Mar 2020; dtnext.in, 17 Apr 2020)
:
In 2020 she said she had learned not to push herself too hard in training. "After many years running at this level, I have come to realise that getting to the starting line healthy is much more important than getting there injured or too overcooked to be competitive. I will rather start a race healthy even it means being 80% fit." (athleticsillustrated.com, 06 Mar 2020)
:
Her older brothers Mike and Christopher. (nation.co.ke, 17 Jul 2011)
:
"Sometimes we look outside ourselves, but ultimately we already have the tools within ourselves. That's how I approach running. That's how I approach life. I already have all the tools I need within myself, I just have to listen to myself, pay attention, and trust that I have it within me to be great at what I do." (womensrunning.com, 25 Feb 2020; atlanta2020trials.com 29 Feb 2020)
:
In 2019 she was inducted into the Texas Tech University Hall of Fame. (kcbd.com, 01 Mar 2020)

She was named Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association [USTFCCCA] in 2006, 2007 and 2008. (ustfccca.org, 2015)

In 2008 she was named USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor Female Track Athlete of the Year. (ustfccca.org, 2015)

General Interest

General
FROM KENYA TO THE UNITED STATES
She was born and raised in Kenya and competed for Kenya at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where she won a silver medal in the 10,000m. She had moved to the US in 2005 for university and became a US citizen in 2017, the same year her daughter was born. 'The beauty about me running under the American flag is because my entire adult life has been spent in America. I fell in love in America. I got married in America. I had a baby in America. I am American. I wanted to run for this great nation because of the privileges and opportunities that this country has afforded me and my family." (womensrunning.com, 25 Feb 2020; otcelite.com, 09 Mar 2020; flotrack.org, 30 Jan 2017; houstonchronicle.com, 18 Jan 2019; africans-in-america.com, 15 Apr 2020)

MATERNITY BREAK
In 2016 she ran the New York City Marathon and finished second, unaware that she was four weeks pregnant at the time. She says she struggled to return to running after giving birth in 2017. "Physically I feel a lot has changed [since giving birth]. My body is different. My body kind of fell apart after giving birth. But mentally I'm stronger. I keep telling myself, 'You can go through childbirth, you can pretty much go through anything'. I can take the pain better now. I think it was so hard coming back from that break. My body was fighting running again. I've had to really struggle to come back. The beginning runs were ugly, ugly runs. And so I think with that kind of difficulty, I've had to really be tough mentally to come through." (runnersworld.com, 13 Apr 2019)

NURSING STUDIES
She was motivated to study nursing at university by an experience during her childhood. She was returning home from school in Kenya one day when her brother's friend fell off his bicycle. She ran more than seven miles to a nearby village to get medical help, but the doctor was intoxicated and refused to assist. She returned to Elias to find his condition had worsened, and he later died. She originally studied at South Plains College in Levelland, TX, United States of America, before moving to Texas Tech University. (lubbockonline.com, 10 Jul 2006; IAAF, 21 Jul 2012; big12sports.com, 18 Nov 2008)

Legend
:
Gold Medal Event
:
Silver Medal Event
:
Bronze Medal Event
Content 1 (removed through CDN)
Content 2 (removed through CDN).
Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos