Julius Kariuki

Julius Kariuki (born June 12, 1961 in Nyahururu ) is a former Kenyan athlete and Olympic champion .

He competed in his first international competition at the 1984 Olympic Games when he finished seventh in the 3000 meter obstacle course . A year later, Kariuki became the African champion. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul , Kariuki was not considered a favorite. In the final, which was run very slowly on the first laps, Kariuki and Peter Koech were able to break away from the rest of the runners. One lap later, Kariuki pulled away from his far more experienced compatriot and became Olympic champion.

In 1989 he won the 10,000 meter run at the Universiade in Duisburg . The following year, he easily won the gold medal in the obstacle course at the 1990 Commonwealth Games . He finished the obstacle course at the 1991 World Championships in fourth place. Although Kariuki continued his career for a few years, the dominance of Kenyan runners was so great that he could no longer qualify for international championships.

Web links

• Julius Kariuki in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )