35 Facts About Bernard Lagat

Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat was born on December 12,1974 and is a Kenyan-American former middle and long-distance runner.

Bernard Lagat is a five-time Olympian, having competed in the 2000,2004,2008,2012 and 2016 games, and is a thirteen-time medalist in World Championships and Olympics including five gold medals.

Today, Bernard Lagat is the head cross country coach and an assistant track and field coach at the University of Arizona.

Bernard Lagat was born in Kaptel village, near Kapsabet town in Nandi District of Kenya.

Bernard Lagat is a Nandi, a sub-tribe of the Kalenjin people.

Bernard Lagat graduated from the Kaptel High School in 1994, where he had started his athletic career.

Bernard Lagat joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi 1996.

In 2000, Bernard Lagat graduated from Washington State University with a degree in management information systems.

Bernard Lagat first represented his native Kenya at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Bernard Lagat spent most of 2002 and 2003 chasing El Guerrouj.

Bernard Lagat withdrew from the 2003 world outdoor championships after a blood test showed traces of EPO in his system.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics Bernard Lagat seemed poised to defeat El Guerrouj.

In March 2005, Bernard Lagat announced that he had become a naturalized citizen of the United States on May 7,2004.

Bernard Lagat became a competitor for the United States but was temporarily banned from international championship events, missing the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki.

Nevertheless, Bernard Lagat owns three American records from races he had run in 2005 that were ratified by USATF.

Bernard Lagat's winning time of 3:29.40 at Rieti, Italy, on August 28,2005, in the outdoor 1500 meters was ratified as his third new American record, improving upon the old record of 3:29.77, set by Sydney Maree in 1985.

Bernard Lagat had concealed the fact that he was running with an injured Achilles tendon, a problem which hampered his training and contributed to his poor showing at the Olympics.

Bernard Lagat stated that his placings at the 2008 Beijing Games were "the biggest disappointment in my athletics career".

Bernard Lagat set a new American record in his debut of the indoor 5000 meters at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on February 6,2010, with a time of 13:11.50.

Bernard Lagat earned his 4th USATF Indoor 3000 meters title on February 22,2014 On June 27, Bernard Lagat, at age 39, won his seventh USA men's 5,000 title.

Bernard Lagat's winning time of 27:49 seconds made an improvement for the world record in the Masters A40 category by 51 seconds.

On July 9, Bernard Lagat won the 5000 meters at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, qualifying him for his fifth Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Bernard Lagat entered the last lap in sixth place more than two and a half seconds behind race leader Galen Rupp.

Bernard Lagat became the oldest runner at the Summer Olympics to represent the United States.

Bernard Lagat was moved to bronze after three runners were disqualified, but was moved back to 5th after 2 of the 3 were reinstated.

Bernard Lagat outsprinted Andrew Butchart of Great Britain, who is 17 years his junior, by more than a second.

Bernard Lagat ran his final race as a professional on September 3,2016, at the ISTAF meet in Berlin where he came in second place in the 3,000 meters.

In May 2017 Bernard Lagat served as a pacer for Nike's Breaking2 attempt at achieving a sub-2-hour marathon time.

Bernard Lagat agreed to run as a pacer at a similar event, the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, in October 2019.

On September 10,2017, Bernard Lagat finished eighth in the 2017 Great North Run half marathon in 1:03:02.

Bernard Lagat participated on his first marathon in New York City Marathon on 4 Nov, 2018 finishing 18th with a time of 2:17:20.

Bernard Lagat had a lead to the second-placed finisher in his age group of 11:15 minutes.

On 29 February 2020, Bernard Lagat placed 18th with a time of 2:14:23 in the Atlanta Olympic Trials Marathon.

In 2023, Bernard Lagat was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Awards.

Bernard Lagat is the current head cross country coach and an assistant track and field coach at the University of Arizona.