Kenyan middle-distance runner
Wilfred Bungei
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| Birth name | Wilfred Kipkemboi Bungei |
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| Nationality |  Kenya |
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| Born | (1980-07-24) 24 July 1980 (age 44)
Kabirirsang, Kenya |
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| Sport | Track and field |
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| Event | 800 metres |
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Wilfred Kipkemboi Bungei (born 24 July 1980) is a Kenyan retired Middle-distance runner, who won the 800 m gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[1] He also won at the World indoor Championships in Moscow 2006 the 800 metres title, defeating Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and Olympic Champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy in the race.[citation needed]
Career
Bungei was ranked No.1 in the world over 800 m in 2002 and 2003. He has a personal best of 1:42.34 minutes (Rieti 2002). At the 2001 World Championships in Athletics in Edmonton he won a silver medal over 800 m, finishing behind André Bucher.[citation needed]
While in school, he focused on sprints and decathlon, before concentrating on 800 metres running.[2]
He graduated from Samoei High School in 1998. At the 1998 World Junior Championships in Athletics he won a silver medal. Bungei represented his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Bungei is from Kabirirsang, a village near Kapsabet. Several of his relatives are runners, including his brother Sammy Kurgat, who won the 2008 Cologne Marathon. He is a second cousin to Kenyan-born Danish former athlete Wilson Kipketer, while his mum is a cousin of Henry Rono.[2]
Bungei is based near Verona, Italy during track season. He is married to Priscah Bungei with two sons (as of 2008).[3]
He was part of the 4 × 800 metres relay team who currently holds the world record.[citation needed]
References
External links
