Linet Masai facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Linet Masai

Personal information
Born	5 December 1989 (1989-12-05) (age 35) Kapsokwony, Mount Elgon District, Kenya
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Kenya Olympic Games Bronze 2008 Beijing 10,000 m World Championships Gold 2009 Berlin 10,000 m Bronze 2011 Daegu 10,000 m World Cross Country Championships Gold 2007 Mombasa Junior race Silver 2009 Amman Senior race Silver 2010 Bydgoszcz Senior race Silver 2011 Punta Umbria Senior race Bronze 2008 Edinburgh Senior race African Championships Bronze 2010 Nairobi 10,000 m

Linet Chepkwemoi Masai, born on December 5, 1989, is a talented long-distance runner from Kenya. She competes in races on a track and also in cross country running, which is running over natural terrain.

She became a world champion in 2009, winning the 10,000-meter race at the World Championships. Linet first became a world champion in junior cross country in 2007. She also set a world junior record for the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2017, she received an Olympic bronze medal for that race. This made her the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic medal in the 10,000m event.

Linet was the runner-up at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships three times in a row, from 2009 to 2011. In 2011, she won her second world medal on the track, finishing third in the 10,000m race.

About Linet Masai

Linet Masai was born in Kapsokwony town, located in the Mount Elgon District of Kenya. She grew up in Bugaa village, which is about four kilometers away. Linet is the fourth of ten children born to John Barasa Masai and Leonida Cherop.

She went to Kapsagom Primary School and then Bishop Okiring Secondary School, graduating in 2005. Linet started running in 2005, inspired by her older brother, Moses Ndiema Masai. He had won 5000 and 10000-meter races at the African Junior Championships. Her younger siblings, Dennis, Ndiema, and Magdaline, are also runners. Their father, John Barasa Masai, was also a runner. Linet trains at the PACE Sports Management camp in Kaptagat.

Linet's Running Career

Early Successes

Linet won the women's junior race at the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya. She finished fourth at the Kenyan trials for the 5000 meters race in 2007. This meant she missed going to the World Championships that year. However, she did compete at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Final, where she placed fourth in both the 3000 and 5000-meter races.

Breakthrough Year: 2008

The year 2008 was a big one for Linet. In the spring, she earned a bronze medal in the senior race at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. That summer, she competed at the Olympic Games. She finished third in the 10,000 meters race.

Her time of 30:26.50 minutes set a new world junior record. It also became a new Kenyan record. This Kenyan record was later broken in June 2009 by Florence Kiplagat.

World Champion in 2009

In August 2009, Linet Masai won the 10,000 meters at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany. She narrowly beat Meselech Melkamu of Ethiopia. The reigning Olympic and world champion, Tirunesh Dibaba, was not competing due to an injury. Linet was also named the Race Results Weekly Female Runner of the Year in 2009. She also received the Kenyan Sportswoman of the Year award.

Continued Success: 2010-2011

Linet started her 2010 cross country season with wins in Spain. At the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, she led for most of the race. However, Emily Chebet passed her at the very end, and Linet finished as the runner-up. This was her second time being runner-up in a row.

Later in 2010, Linet won the NYRR New York Mini 10K race in the United States. She also won the Women's 5K Challenge in London. At the 2010 African Championships in Athletics, she earned a bronze medal in the 10,000m.

In 2011, Linet won the Great Edinburgh Cross Country race. She also won the Kenyan Cross Country Championships. At the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, she again finished second. Vivian Cheruiyot, another Kenyan runner, overtook her in the final stretch. Linet won the New York Mini 10K again in June.

At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Linet competed in both the 5000m and 10,000m events. In the 10,000m, she finished third, helping Kenya take the top four places. In the 5000m race, she finished sixth.

Later Career

Linet continued to compete in cross country races in 2012, winning events like the Cross de Atapuerca. However, she did not finish the Kenyan 10,000m trial race in June. This meant she would not compete internationally in that event for the first time since 2008. She also did not qualify for the Olympics that year.

Achievements

Personal Best Times

• 3000 metres – 8:38.97 minutes (2007)
• 5000 metres – 14:31.14 minutes (2010)
• 10,000 metres – 30:26.50 minutes (2008)
• 10 kilometres – 30:48 minutes (2010)

See also

In Spanish: Linet Masai para niños