Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya)
Samuel was born on November 10, 1986, in Nyahururu, Laikipia County, in Nairobi, Kenya. He is the youngest gold medalist in a marathon race since 1932. Samuel started his career at the Fukuoka Marathon competition in Japan on December 2, 2007. He was the first Kenyan to win Olympic gold in a marathon race – a feat he achieved at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a record time of 2:06:32.
He set the current World Junior Championship record of 26:41.75 in the 10,000-meter marathon on August 26, 2005, in Brussels, Belgium.
Throughout his career, he won 4 gold medals and 1 silver.
Some of his awards include: Kenyan Most Promising Sportsman of the Year (2005), Kenyan Sportsman of the Year Award (2008), AIMS World Athlete of the Year Award (2008).
