Samuel Ireri Gathimba (born 26 October 1987 in Nyeri County) is a Kenyan racewalking athlete. He was the 20 kilometres walk gold medallist at the African Championships in Athletics in 2016. He holds a personal best of 1:19:24 hours.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 26, 1987 |
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Kenya |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Men's 20km Walk |
Medal record | |
Gathimba emerged at international level in 2014, taking a silver medal at the 2014 African Championships in Athletics behind Lebogang Shange of South Africa. He set a personal best of 1:23:59 hours to place second at the national championships that year, behind David Kimutai Rotich.[1][2] He topped the podium at the 2015 national trials with a new best of 1:23:12 hours, which ranked him in the world's top 100 for the first time.[3][4] He again demonstrated his place among the continent's best at the 2015 African Games where he lost out on the gold to Shange by a margin of one second.[5]
The 2016 season proved to be a breakthrough for Gathimba. At the 2016 African Championships in Athletics he was a gold medallist by a large margin, crossing the line in a championship record of 1:19:24 hours. This was a Kenyan record and was 22 seconds off Hatem Ghoula's near two-decade-old African best.[6]
He has qualified to represent Kenya at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[7]
International competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | African Championships | Marrakech, Morocco | 2nd | 20 km walk | 1:27:11 |
| 2015 | African Games | Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | 2nd | 20 km walk | 1:26:44 |
| 2016 | African Championships | Durban, South Africa | 1st | 20 km walk | 1:19:24 CR |
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 3rd | 20 km walk | 1:19:51 |
| African Championships | Asaba, Nigeria | 1st | 20 km walk | 1:25:14 | |
| 2019 | African Games | Rabat, Morocco | 1st | 20 km walk | 1:22:48 |
| 2022 | African Championships | Port Louis, Mauritius | 1st | 20 km walk | 1:22:01 |
| 2024 | African Games | Accra, Ghana | 2nd | 20 km walk | 1:28:06 |
National titles
edit- Kenyan Athletics Championships
- 20 km walk: 2015
References
edit- ^ 2014 end-of-year reviews – race walks. IAAF (2014-12-22). Retrieved on 2016-07-01.
- ^ Senior outdoor 2014 20 Kilometres Race Walk men. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-01.
- ^ Mutuota, Mutwiri (2015-08-01). ‘Fergie’ topples ‘King David’, Kiprop, Sum soar. Capital FM Sports. Retrieved on 2016-07-01.
- ^ Senior outdoor 2015 20 Kilometres Race Walk men. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-01.
- ^ African Games Men's 20 km walk Results. Brazzaville2015. Retrieved on 2016-07-01.
- ^ Botton, Wesley (2016-06-26). Van Niekerk takes 200m title, two more golds for Semenya as African Championships conclude. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-01.
- ^ Olobulu, Timothy (2021-06-19). "Conseslus, Timothy Cheruiyot out as Kenya names team for Tokyo Olympics". Capital Sports. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
