Kip Keino

Kip Keino, born in 1940, Kenyan track-and-field athlete and two-time gold medalist at the Olympic Games. He is best known for his training at about 1800 m (about 6000 ft) above sea level, which helped introduce high-altitude training as a technique to improve running time at any altitude. A member of the Nandi tribe, he was born Kipchoge Keino in Kipsamo, Kenya, and worked as a physical training instructor in the police force before becoming an athlete.

Keino began his international running career in 1962 when he set a Kenyan record in the 1-mile race. At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Keino represented Kenya in their first games as an independent nation, placing fifth in the 5000-meter event. Later in 1964 he set two world records, at the 3000-meter distance with a time of 7 minutes 39.6 seconds, and at the 5000-meter distance with a time of 13 minutes 24.2 seconds. In both 1964 and 1965, at the first and second African Games, he was champion at the 1500-meter and 5000-meter events. At the 1966 Commonwealth Games, Keino won the titles in both the 1-mile and 3-mile events.

Keino's most acclaimed international victory came at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, where, after having to jog a mile to the stadium because his taxi was stuck in traffic, he won the 1500-meter race with an Olympic record time of 3 minutes 34.9 seconds. The mark stood until 1984. He also won the silver medal in the 5000-meter event despite an acute gallbladder infection. At the 1972 Olympics in Munich, West Germany, he won his second Olympic gold medal, in the 3000-meter steeplechase, and also won a silver medal in the 1500-meter race.

Keino retired from international running in 1973. Shortly thereafter he and his wife, Phyllis, purchased a farm in Kenya, on which they began an orphanage. Keino also began helping to coach Kenyan track-and-field teams.