Meriem Wangari
{{short description|Kenyan long-distance runner}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2015}}
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Meriem Wangari Kiprugut (born 22 February 1979) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in half marathon and 10K road races. Her personal best for the half marathon distance is 1:10:27 hours, set in Lille in 2007. She made her marathon debut in 2012 and set a time of 2:31:30 hours on her first attempt.
She has competed in mainly British and French competitions. She has won half marathons in Bristol, Bath, Lille, Boulogne-Billancourt, as well as Gothenburg and Marrakech. She is a three-time winner of the 20 Kilomètres de Paris, a four-time winner of the 20 kilomètres de Maroilles, and has had five victories at the Foulée Suresnoise.
Career
Wangari won her first races while based in the United Kingdom. She won the Swansea Bay 10K in 2001, then took the women's title at the Windsor Half Marathon a week later. She returned to the Swansea race the following year and took a second straight victory.McGeoch, Mick (27 September 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_Swansea10.htm Swansea Bay 10 km]. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS). Retrieved on 8 January 2012.McGeoch, Mick et al (7 March 2009). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_WindsorHM.htm Windsor Half Marathon]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. She had consecutive wins at both the Cardiff 10K and the Bristol Half Marathon in 2003 and 2004.McGeoch, Mick (17 September 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_Cardiff10.htm Cardiff 10 km]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.McGeoch, Mick (14 September 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_BristolHM.htm Bristol Half Marathon]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. A personal best run of 1:11:58 hours came at the Bath Half Marathon in March 2003 and she was narrowly beaten by a second by race winner Deborah Robinson.[http://aimsworldrunning.org/statistics/2003Statistics.htm 2003 AIMS Statistics]. Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. She won the Göteborgsvarvet in Sweden in May,Hultman, Hans & Monti, David (24 May 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_GotHM.htm Göteborgsvarvet Half Marathon]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. returned to the UK to win the Stroud Half Marathon in October, then went on to reach the top of the podium at her second attempt at the 2004 Bath Half Marathon.McGeoch, Mick (1 November 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_StroudHM.htm Stroud Half Marathon]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.McGeoch, Mick et al (8 March 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_BathHM.htm Bath Half Marathon]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. Her fastest run of 2004 came at the Glasgow Half Marathon, where she completed the distance in 1:12:00 hours to take second place behind Beatrice Omwanza.[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2004/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=HMAR/detail.html Women's Half Marathon 2004]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.
Wangari moved to France for the 2005 season and completed extensively on the country's road race circuit that year. Among her outings were victories at the 20 kilomètres de Maroilles, Semi-Marathon d'Oloron Sainte Marie, La Rochelle Half Marathon, Alençon-Médavy 15K, and the Foulée Suresnoise 10K.Lefeuvre, Thierry (19 November 2011). [https://arrs.run/HP_Maroilles20.htm Maroilles 20 km]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.Lefeuvre, Thierry (23 March 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_LRoHM.htm La Rochelle Half Marathon]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.Lefeuvre, Thierry (28 March 2011).[https://arrs.run/HP_AlMed15.htm Alençon-Médavy 15.4 km]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.Seigneuric, Yves & Lefeuvre. Thierry (20 June 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_Sures10.htm Foulées de Suresnes 10 km]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. Another win came at the Boulogne-Billancourt Half Marathon in what was then a course record time of 1:12:00 hours.[http://www.semi-marathonbb.fr/pages/public/index.php?v=events&id=8 Boulogne-Billancourt Half-Marathon History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122201804/http://www.semi-marathonbb.fr/pages/public/index.php?v=events&id=8 |date=22 November 2011 }}. Semi-marathon de Boulogne-Billancourt. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. She improved her personal best time to 1:11:54 hours at that year's Reims à Toutes Jambes half marathon.[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2005/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=HMAR/detail.html Women's Half Marathon 2005]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.
The highlight of her 2006 season was a win at the Lille Half Marathon in a personal best of 1:11:36 hours.Civai, Franco & Lefeuvre, Thierry (6 September 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_LilleHM.htm Lille Métropole Half Marathon]. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 6 April 2010. She retained her titles at the Maroilles 20K and Oloron Sainte Marie races and also ran a 10K personal best of 32:47 minutes at the Istanbul 10K, finishing second to Elvan Abeylegesse. Her 15K time also fell that year, as she took the women's race at the Corrida Festas da Cidade do Porto in a time of 48:51 minutes.[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2006/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=10RR/detail.html Women's 10K 2006]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2006/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=HMAR/detail.html Women's Half Marathon 2006]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. Her 2007 began she won a third straight win in Maroilles. She knocked a second off her best at the Lille Half Marathon, recording 1:10:27 hours and being beaten by Mary Keitany.[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2007/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=HMAR/detail.html Women's Half Marathon 2007]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. In September she won the Le Lion Half Marathon and the Paris-Versailles Race within the space of a week.Civai, Franco & Lefeuvre, Thierry (27 September 2011). [https://www.arrs.run/HP_MontbHM.htm Le Lion Half Marathon]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.[https://www.arrs.run/HP_PVs16.htm Paris-Versailles 16.3 km]. ARRS (26 September 2011). Retrieved on 8 January 2012. The following month she won the 20 Kilomètres de Paris and came third at the Istanbul 15K.[https://www.arrs.run/HP_Par20.htm Paris 20 km]. ARRS (11 October 2011). Retrieved on 8 January 2012.
In April 2008 she ran the half marathon at the Humarathon in Vitry-sur-Seine and was third in an all-Kenyan sweep of the podium.[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2008/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=HMAR/detail.html Women's Half Marathon 2008]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. A fourth straight win in Maroilles was also her fastest, as she completed the distance in 1:08:49 hours (the second fastest in the race history). Further to this, she also achieved consecutive wins at both the Course Paris-Versailles and Paris 20K, as well as winning the Foulée Suresnoise. She repeated her victories again at these three races in 2009 and at the Paris 20K set a career best of 1:05:30 hours. She came close to a personal best with a run of 1:10:28 hours for fourth at the Humarathon. At the Corrida de Langueux she defeated all comers and was five seconds off the course record. That year, she also reached the podium at the Lille and Boulogne-Billancourt half marathons.[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2009/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=HMAR/detail.html Women's Half Marathon 2009]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.
The 2010 season saw Wangari retain her titles at the Corrida Langueux, Foulée Suresnoise and Paris-Versailles races.Lefeuvre, Thierry (3 July 2010). [https://arrs.run/HP_Langueux10.htm Corrida Langueux 10 km]. ARRS. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. Over the half marathon, she was fifth at the Paris Half Marathon and ran a season's best of 1:12:19 hours to win at the Marrakech Half Marathon.[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2010/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=HMAR/detail.html Women's Half Marathon 2011]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.Lee, Catherine (6 September 2010). [http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/event-editorial/rw-race-report---international-half-marathon-de-marrakech/5539.html RW Race Report – International Half-Marathon de Marrakech]. Runner's World. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. She continued her winning streaks at the Corrida Langueux and Foulée Suresnoise into 2011.Vazel, P-J (25 June 2011). [http://www.iaaf.org/LRR11/news/newsid=60403.html Tsegay and Wangari take Langueux 10Km titles]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. Her fastest run that year was 1:11:10 hours, which brought her the title at the Saint Denis Half Marathon.[http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=o/age=n/season=2011/sex=W/all=n/legal=A/disc=HMAR/detail.html Women's Half Marathon 2011]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012. She made her debut over the marathon distance at the 2012 Xiamen Marathon in China and although she was some minutes behind the winner Ashu Kasim, she claimed second place with a debut time of 2:31:30 hours.Jalava, Mirko (7 January 2012). [http://www.iaaf.org/LRR11/news/newsid=63297.html Kamais and Kasim cruise to Xiamen wins]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 January 2012.
References
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External links
- {{World Athletics}}
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