Wilson Kipketer: Citizenship Switch, Career, World Records, Wife, Height & Weight
Wilson Kipketer was one of the greatest 800m runners in history, dominating the event before the rise of David Rudisha. Despite being born in Kenya, Kipketer chose to represent Denmark, where he set world records and won multiple titles.
Citizenship Switch
Born on December 12, 1972, in Kapchemoiywo, Nandi County, Kenya, Kipketer attended St. Patrick’s High School in Iten, known for producing top runners. Under the guidance of Brother Colm O’Connell, he honed his skills before traveling to Denmark in 1990 as a foreign exchange student to study electronic engineering.
Enjoying life in Denmark, he applied for Danish citizenship, ultimately deciding to compete for his new country, denying Kenya an athlete who would later become a world-beater.
Career
After switching nationalities, Kipketer started representing Denmark in 1994. That year, he won 16 of his 18 races in the 800m and ended the season ranked as the world’s best. The following year, he continued his dominance, winning 10 of his 12 races and claiming his first world title at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.
In 1996, despite being undefeated, he was ineligible to compete at the Atlanta Olympics as he was not yet a full Danish citizen. He bounced back in 1997 by winning the World Indoor Championships, setting a new world record of 1:42.67. That same year, he equaled Sebastian Coe’s 1:41.73 world record in Stockholm before breaking it twice—first in Zurich with 1:41.24 and then in Cologne with 1:41.11, a record that stood for 13 years.
Kipketer successfully defended his world title in 1997 and won silver at the 1999 World Indoor Championships. Later that year, he claimed his third world title in Seville, remaining undefeated in 800m races.
By 2000, his dominance began to decline, but he still won silver at the Sydney Olympics. He clinched the European Championship in 2002 but finished fourth at the 2003 World Championships. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, he secured bronze despite leading with 80m to go. Kipketer retired in 2005.
World Records
Kipketer ran the second-fastest 800m time in history, 1:41.11, in 1997, a record he held until 2012 when David Rudisha set the current record of 1:40.91. He also set the 800m indoor world record of 1:42.67 in 1997 and the 1,000m indoor world record of 2:14.96 in 2000. His streak of running sub-1:44 times every year from 1994 to 2004 remains unmatched.
Personal Life
Kipketer married Danish long-distance runner Pernille in 2000. The couple resides in Monaco and has a son born in 2004.
Height & Weight
Wilson Kipketer stands at 1.82m (5 ft 11½ in) and weighs 63 kg.
