Dominic Ondoro

{{ Infobox sportsperson

| name = Dominic Ondoro

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| birth_name = Dominic Pius Ondoro

| fullname =

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| nationality = Kenyan

| residence =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|03|03}}

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| height =

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| country = Kenya

| sport = Athletics

| event = Marathon

| collegeteam =

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| turnedpro =

| coach = Yobes Ondieki

| retired =

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| worlds =

| regionals =

| nationals =

| olympics =

| paralympics =

| highestranking =

| pb =

8,000: 22:33

10,000 m: 28:04

12,000 m: 35:41

10 mile: 47:05

Half marathon: 1:01:45

Marathon: 2:08:00

| medaltemplates =

| show-medals =

}}

Dominic Ondoro (born March 3, 1988, also known as Pius Dominic Ondoro) is a Kenyan long-distance runner best known for holding the course records at Minnesota's Grandma's Marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon. He has won many other major marathons, some multiple times, such as the 2017 and 2023 Houston Marathon in Texas,{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Ondoro, Assefa claim Houston Marathon Titles

|url= https://www.si.com/uncategorized/2017/01/15/ap-ath-houston-marathon-1st-ld-writethru

|date=15 January 2017

|publisher=Sports Illustrated

|location=New York, New York

|access-date=10 April 2020

}} his two Melbourne Marathon wins in Australia and his unrivaled four Twin Cities Marathon wins in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Running career

At the IAAF-labeled Houston Marathon in 2017, Ondoro ran most of the race with a large group that included Ethiopian Olympians Yitayal Atnafu and Abayneh Ayele. The race had been won by Ethiopians in the previous eight years, but Ondoro sped up in the last two miles to win the race in 2:12:05.{{cite news

|last1=

|first1=

|title=DAssefa and Ondoro claim marathon titles, while Nyaruai and Korir take half-marathon crowns in Houston

|url=https://www.worldathletics.org/news/report/houston-half-marathon-2017-korir-nyaruai-ondo

|publisher=World Athletics

|date=15 January 2017

|location=Monaco

|access-date=15 April 2020

}}

Ondoro finished second at the Stockholm Marathon in 2011 in 2:14:23.{{cite web

|url=https://stockholm.r.mikatiming.de/2011/?pid=leaderboard

|author=

|title=Asics Stockholm Marathon 2011

|date=28 March 2011

|access-date=29 April 2020

|language=Swedish

}} The same year, he won the Helsinki City Marathon at age 23. He finished in 2:23:24.{{cite web |title=ARRS - Runner: Dominic Ondoro |url=https://more.arrs.run/runner/36396 |website=Association of Road Racing Statisticians |publisher=ARRS |access-date=9 November 2019}} In 2012, he finished ninth in the Mumbai Marathon in 2:14:56.{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|editor=Hugh Jones

|title=January 2012 Results

|url= https://aims-worldrunning.org/results-new/2012_01.htm

|website=aims-worldrunning.org

|date=

|agency=AIMS Home

|publisher=Association of International Marathons and Road Races

|location=Athens, Greece

|access-date=25 April 2020

}}

Later in 2012, Ondoro raced the Great Bristol Half Marathon, winning the competitive race in 1:02:51.{{cite web

|url=http://dailykenya.blogspot.com/2012/09/

|author=

|title=Leading Edge: Fernando Cabada

|date=30 September 2012

|access-date=20 April 2020

}}

His personal best time in a marathon was at the Tiberias Marathon in 2013. The race takes place near the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Ondoro was crowned the victor after he finished just seconds ahead of Deribe Melka and Francis Kibiwott Larabal and crossed the finish line in 2:08:00.{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|editor=Hugh Jones

|title=January 2013 Results

|url= https://aims-worldrunning.org/results/archive/2013.html#01

|website=aims-worldrunning.org

|date=

|agency=AIMS Home

|publisher=Association of International Marathons and Road Races

|location=Athens, Greece

|access-date=23 April 2020

}}

In 2013, at the Lille Half Marathon in Lille, France, Ondoro finished sixth in his best-ever half marathon race, coming in at 1:01:32, a few seconds behind Abraham Cheroben.{{cite news

|last=Larner

|first=Brett

|title=Kipruto and Chepkemoi Take 2013 Lille Half Marathon Titles

|url= http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.com/2013/09/kipruto-and-chepkemoi-take-2013-lille.html

|date=1 September 2013

|publisher=Japan Running News

|location=Tokyo, Japan

|access-date=24 April 2020

}}

In 2014, he became the new course record holder at Grandma's Marathon, which runs from Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota, by winning in a time of 2:09:06. The former record was held for 33 years by Dick Beardsley (former winner of the London Marathon).{{cite AV media

| author= Chelsie Brown

| date = 21 June 2019

| title = Record-Breaking Decade of Runs For Grandma's Races

| medium = Television broadcast

| url = https://www.wdio.com/sports/record-breakig-decader-of-runs-from-grandmas-marathon/5398567/

| access-date = 24 April 2020

| location = Duluth, Minnesota

| editor = Chelsie Brown

| publisher = WDIO-TV

}}

"I've been honored to hold the record for that long, but now it's time to pass it on," Beardsley said after being one of the first people to congratulate Ondoro for his victory.{{cite AV media

| author= Carrie Tollefson

| date = 25 June 2014

| title = Grandma's Marathon 2014

| medium = video

| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2vT_NBgHwc&list=PLkSIr67JmSwEhwClkhOL1dWpKPFdGKQlD&index=21

| access-date = 3 May 2020

| location = Minneapolis, Minnesota

| editor = Tim Bornholdt

| publisher = C Tolle Run

}}

He returned in 2015 and finished in 2:11:17. It was enough for second place, behind his training partner Elisha Barno, who won in 2:10:38.{{cite news

|last1=

|first1=

|editor=Kevin Bilodeau

|title=Grandma's Marathon

|url=https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2015TN57.pdf

|publisher=eTrack Newsletter

|agency=Track and Field News

|date=28 September 2015

|volume=14

|number=57

}}

Ondoro won the Melbourne Marathon in back-to-back years: 2013 and 2014.{{cite web |title=Dominic Ondoro |url=https://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/dominic-ondoro/ |website=Chevron Houston Marathon |date=23 February 2017 |access-date=12 October 2019}}

In 2015, he beat out 40,000 other runners to win the Cooper River Bridge Run, a 10K run in South Carolina that is the fifth-largest road race in the United States.{{cite news

|last1=

|first1=

|editor=Kevin Bilodeau

|title=Dominic Ondoro wins 2015 Cooper River Bridge Run

|url=https://www.live5news.com/story/28637682/dominic-ondoro-wins-2015-cooper-river-bridge-run/

|publisher=WCSC-TV

|agency=Gray Television

|date=28 March 2015

|location=Charleston, South Carolina

}} With a strong headwind, he finished first in 29:22. In 2016, against 36,000 competitors, he won again, finishing in 29:00. The prize each year was $10,000.{{cite AV media

| author= Justin Biegel

| date = 2 April 2016

| title = Dominic Ondoro wins 39th Cooper River Bridge Run

| medium = Television broadcast

| url = https://www.live5news.com/story/31626396/dominic-ondoro-wins-39th-cooper-river-bridge-run/

| access-date = 23 April 2020

| location = Charleston, South Carolina

| editor = Kevin Bilodeau

| publisher = WCSC-TV

}}

In 2016 and 2017, he was the back-to-back champion of the Azalea Trail Run in Mobile, Alabama (a 10K run) with times of 28:25 and 28:04, respectively.

In May 2016, Ondoro finished third at the Ottawa Marathon in 2:11:39 behind Ethiopians Dino Sefir and Shura Kitata.{{cite news

|last=Holder

|first=Gord

|title=Race Weekend: Ethiopia's Dino Sefir and Koren Jelela win Ottawa Marathon

|url= https://ottawacitizen.com/sports/local-sports/race-weekend-ethiopias-dino-sefir-and-koren-jelela-win-ottawa-marathon/

|date=29 May 2016

|work=Ottawa Citizen

|location=Ottawa, Canada

|access-date=28 April 2020

}}

Ondoro broke another longstanding course record in 2016 at the Twin Cities Marathon. Phil Coppess had set the record in 1985, when he ran the course in 2:10:05, one of the fastest American marathons of all time. The record stood for 31 years.{{cite news

|last=Barker

|first=Sarah

|title=Dominic Ondoro's Twin Cities Marathon Win Broke A 31-Year-Old Record

|url= https://deadspin.com/dominic-ondoros-twin-cities-marathon-win-broke-a-31-yea-1787627972

|date=13 October 2016

|agency=G/O Media

|publisher=Deadspin

|location=New York, New York

|access-date=24 April 2020

}} But in the late October morning, Ondoro outran his competition and finished in 2:08:51, taking home $35,000. It was the fastest marathon ever run in Minnesota. Both he and second-place winner Elisha Barno ran faster than the winning time at the 2016 Chicago Marathon.

The record-breaking year wasn't the first or last time he would break the tape in the Midwestern race. Ondoro has won the Twin Cities race, which runs from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to St. Paul, four times: 2015,{{cite news

|last=Briggs

|first=Seekins

|title=Twin Cities Marathon 2015 Results: Men's and Women's Top Finishers.

|url= https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2575550-twin-cities-marathon-2015-results-mens-and-womens-top-finishers

|date=4 October 2015

|agency=Turner Broadcasting Systems

|publisher=Bleacher Report

|location=San Francisco, California

|access-date=19 April 2020

}} 2016,

{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon 2016 Results Book

|url= https://issuu.com/twincitiesinmotion/docs/2016_medtronic_twin_cities_marathon

|date=October 2016

|publisher=Twin Cities in Motion

|location=St. Paul, Minnesota

|access-date=10 April 2020

}} 2017,

{{cite news

|last=

|first=

|title=Thousands of Runners Compete in Twin Cities Marathon

|url= https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/10/01/two-kenyans-win-twin-cities-marathon

|date=1 October 2017

|agency=KNOW

|publisher=Minnesota Public Radio

|location=St. Paul, Minnesota

|access-date=28 April 2020

}} and 2019.{{cite news |title=Kenyan nabs unprecedented fourth victory in Twin Cities Marathon |url=https://www.twincities.com/2019/10/06/who-were-top-male-female-finishers-at-the-tc-marathon/|website=Twincities.com |access-date=12 October 2019 |publisher=Pioneer Press |date=6 October 2019 |location=St. Paul, Minnesota}} He didn't compete in 2018.{{cite news

|last=Blount

|first=Rachel

|title=TC Marathon winner Barno makes it a double; Biyadgilgn wins women's title

|url= https://www.startribune.com/tc-marathon-winner-barno-makes-it-a-double-biyadgilgn-wins-women-s-title/495387121/

|date=8 October 2018

|publisher=Star Tribune

|location=Minneapolis, Minnesota

|access-date=28 April 2020

}}

He won the 2022 Grandma's Marathon in near course-record time. On November 20, 2022, in the cold and wind, he won the Philadelphia Marathon.{{cite news

|last=Hendrickson

|first=Beccah

|title=Runners battle cold, wind during Philadelphia Marathon

|url=https://6abc.com/run-philadelphia-marathon-road-closures-race/12474718/

|date=20 November 2022

|work=WPVI-TV

|agency=ABC

|publisher=6 Action News

|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|access-date=22 November 2022

}}

He started 2023 by winning the Houston Marathon.

Early and personal life

Ondoro was born in Kenya and lives in Uasin Gishu County, where many elite marathoners train. He and Elisha Barno, another elite marathon runner, train together in Eldoret, Kenya, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. They have been coached by Kenyan World Championship gold medalist Yobes Ondieki. In 2016, they were represented by agent Scott Robinson. Barno and Ondoro are good friends and both own home construction companies in Kenya. Ondoro has three children.{{cite news

|last=Barker

|first=Sarah

|title=Dominic Ondoro's Twin Cities Marathon Win Broke A 31-Year-Old Record

|url= https://deadspin.com/dominic-ondoros-twin-cities-marathon-win-broke-a-31-yea-1787627972

|date=13 October 2016

|agency=G/O Media

|publisher=Deadspin

|location=New York, New York

|access-date=24 April 2020

}}{{cite news

|last=Gonzalez

|first=Jason