SAMUEL WANJIRU
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 10,1986 |
| GENDER | Male |
| OCCUPATION | Athlete |
Biography
Samuel Wanjiru was an Olympic marathon champion who made history by winning the gold medal in the marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
He became the first Kenyan to secure an Olympic gold medal in the marathon with a record time of 2:06:32. At just 18 years old, Wanjiru also became the youngest gold medalist since 1932.
Education
Wanjiru and his brother Simon Njoroge were raised solely by their mother, Hannah Wanjiru.
The late Wanjiru dropped out of school when he was only 12 as his mother could no longer afford to pay his school fees due to financial challenges in life.
Despite the challenges, he received a scholarship to attend high school in Japan. He studied at Gakuen High School in Sendai, where he gained fame through his successes in the cross-country circuit.
Samuel Wanjiru Career and Achievements
Samuel Wanjiru was a two-time Chicago Marathon champion, securing titles in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, he also won the London Marathon, setting a personal best of 2:05:10 in London.
Although he had to withdraw from the 2010 London Marathon due to a knee issue, he successfully defended his Chicago title that year.
Wanjiru made his marathon debut at the Fukuoka Marathon in 2007, where he set a course record with a time of 2:06:39.
In 2008, he placed second at the London Marathon, becoming the first to break 2:06 with a time of 2:05:24.
He excelled in cross-country in Japan, winning the Fukuoka International Cross-Country Race from 2003 to 2005 and the Chiba International Cross-Country Race in 2004 and 2005.
In August 2005, he set a junior world record for the 10,000 meters with a time of 26:41.75 at the Van Damme Memorial, and later that year broke the world road record for the half-marathon with a time of 59:16 in Rotterdam.
Wanjiru passed away in May 2011 at the age of 24. His death was surrounded by controversy, as it was reported to be an apparent suicide after he jumped from a balcony at his home.
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