Benjamin Kogo

Benjamin Kogo (* 1945 in Arwos in the Nandi district ) is a former Kenyan athlete. In 1968 he was runner-up in the Olympic 3000 meter obstacle course .

Kogo won the East African Championship in the obstacle course in 1964. At the Olympic Games in 1964 , he was eliminated in advance. In 1965 he won the title at the first African Games. At the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston , Jamaica in 1966 , he finished third in 8: 32.81 minutes behind the New Zealander Peter Welsh and the Australian Kerry O'Brien . In 1967 Kogo won again at the East African Championship, this year he set his personal best with 8: 31.6 minutes. In 1968, Kogo won for the third time at the East African Championship. The Kenyans, who are used to high altitudes, were among the favorites in the medium and long-distance disciplines at the 1968 Olympic Games near Mexico City, and Benjamin Kogo was rated the strongest man over 3000 meters of obstacle. Only he and his compatriot Amos Biwott stayed under nine minutes in the lead. In the final, Kogo and the defending champion Gaston Roelants led the field, Roelants fell back in the last lap, while Kogo sprinted for victory with the Americans George Young and Kerry O'Brien, the three runners also crossed the finish line in that order , however, Biwott overtook almost the entire field on the last half lap and won clearly ahead of Kogo. Two years later, Kogo finished sixth again at the British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1970 . With a height of 1.75 m, his competition weight was 64 kg.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede: The History of Olympic Athletics. Volume 2: 1948-1968. Bartels & Wernitz, Berlin 1969.

Web links

• Benjamin Kogo in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Results Commonwealth Games
• African Games results
• Results East African Championships