Margaret Wangari Muriuki (born 21 March 1986) is a Kenyan professional long and middle distance runner. She shared in the team gold medal at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Individually, she won medals at the African Cross Country Championships and the African Championships in Athletics (1500 m) in 2012.
She initially started out as a 1500 metres runner and came seventh in that event at the 2007 All-Africa Games. She was the winner of the 2008 Cross de Atapuerca and went on to finish in eighth place at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships that year. She won the 2009 Lotto Cross Cup de Hannut cross country race in 2009.[1]
Muriuki placed sixth at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, which helped the Kenyan women to the world team title. She was the runner-up at the 2012 African Cross Country Championships behind teammate Joyce Chepkirui, both of whom shared the team title.[2] A week later she took third place at the Lisbon Half Marathon, finishing behind Diana Chepkemoi.[3] Showing her versatility, she went back down to the 1500 m at the 2012 African Championships in Athletics and won the bronze medal for Kenya in a personal best of 4:06.50 min.[4] She ran on the American road circuit in August and won both the Beach to Beacon 10K and the Falmouth Road Race.[5] She was runner-up at that year's Portugal Half Marathon (also held in Lisbon).
Muriuki secured the Kenyan national title in cross country at the start of 2013, guaranteeing selection for the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.[6]
In 2020, amid scares of the disease COVID-19 spreading in California, Muriuki ran a dominant race in the Los Angeles Marathon, crossing the finish with a 3-minute lead in a time of 2:29:27.[7]
Competition record
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Kenya
| |||||
| 2007 | All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | 7th | 1500 m | 4:13.70 |
| 2008 | World Cross Country Championships | Edinburgh, United Kingdom | 8th | Senior race | Individual |
| 2nd | Team | ||||
| 2010 | World Cross Country Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 6th | Senior race | Individual |
| 1st | Team | ||||
| 2012 | African Cross Country Championships | Cape Town, South Africa | 2nd | Senior race | Individual |
| 1st | Team | ||||
| African Championships | Porto Novo, Benin | 3rd | 1500 m | 4:06.50 | |
| 2013 | World Cross Country Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 5th | Senior race | Individual |
| 1st | Team | ||||
| 2014 | African Championships | Marrakech, Morocco | 4th | 5000 m | 15:55.18 |
Personal bests
edit- 1500 metres - 4:06.50 min (2012)
- 3000 metres - 8:37.97 min (2010)
- 5000 metres - 14:40.48 min (2013)
- 10K (road) - 31:05 min (2010)
- Half marathon - 69:21 min (2012)
References
edit- ^ Michiels, Paul et al (2012-01-23). Hannut Cross. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2012-01-23.
- ^ Williamson, Norrie (2012-03-19). Langat and Chepkirui take African XC titles in Cape Town. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-25.
- ^ Fernandes, Antonio Manuel (2012-03-25). Tadese collects third consecutive win in Lisbon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-03-26.
- ^ Africa Championships: Mutai, Wanjiru win two more gold for Kenya. Sports News Arena (2012-06-30). Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
- ^ Matson, Barbara (2012-08-13). Kenya’s Stanley Biwott, Margaret Wangari win Falmouth Road Race. Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
- ^ Mutuota, Mutwiri (2013-02-16). Rono and Muriuki win Kenyan World Cross Trials in Nairobi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-02.
- ^ Miller, Jeff (March 8, 2020). "Bayelign Teshager and Margaret Muriuki win 2020 L.A. Marathon". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
