Noah – a name to remember
Last night’s mile world record may not have been possible without the courageous
contribution of the Kenyan runner Noah Ngeny. Still just 20, Ngeny first made his mark on
the international circuit in 1997 when he set world junior records at the mile and 1500m.
His 3:32.91 1500m bettered Daniel Komen’s mark and his 3:50.41 mile surpassed the
record set 31 years earlier by American great Jim Ryun.
Basing himself at the KIM camps in Melbourne and Stanford, Ngeny continued his development
in 1998. He had an excellent early season with his wins in Hamilton, Canberra and the
Australian Championships and was runner-up in Melbourne, Sydney and the Prefontaine
Classic.
This consistency continued on the European circuit as he placed second in 1500m at both
Stuttgart and Berlin. His third place in Monte Carlo 1500m improved his personal best to
3:30.41 and ranked him as 1998’s fourth fastest performer.
So far in 1999, Ngeny has won two important mile races (in Eugene and Uniondale USA) and
also finished first over 1500m in Villeneuve d’Ascq (3:31.12), Lausanne (3:31.18) and
Athens (3:31.32) – which also represent the three fastest performances this year over
this distance.
(Information - Kim McDonald, Ngeny’s manager, and IAAF )