Paul Tanui Bio: Iaaf, Instagram, Medals, Kenya & Running

Paul Tanui is a professional long-distance runner who represents Kenya on an international level. He is also a one-time Olympic silver medalist. 

The Olympic medalist won the silver medal in the 10,000 m race at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Moreover, he has won three bronze medals at the World Championships. 

Likewise, he also won silver at the 2011 World Cross Country Championships held in Punta Umbria. Not to mention, the runner has landed in the first place team races. 

He secured the first position in the 2009 World Cross Country Championships’ Junior race category. Similarly, Tanui again won first place in the 2010 and 2011 Championships’ Senior race category. 

The runner grew up in the Komora estate, where being a professional runner was not common. He recalls how his neighbors would stare at him while he went on jogs, which was quite unusual for them. 

However, Tanui was determined to live his dream and would run any chance he got. He was patient and had faith in his skills and abilities. 

Moreover, he was always hungry to learn more, and be better every day and saw failures as an opportunity to learn more. The athlete gave Mo Farah a tough run for his gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. 

Before getting into details about the athlete’s life and career, here are some quick facts about him. 

Quick Facts

Paul Tanui | Early Life, Family, and Education

Paul Tanui was born and raised in Komora estate, outskirts of Nakuru, Kenya. He grew up in a family with six siblings and two loving parents. 

Despite being a whole house, his parents made sure that each and every one of their children got to live out their dreams and experience life the way they wanted to. Similarly, the siblings looked after one another. 

The city of Nakuru is an agricultural city, and farming is the main occupation and source of income for most people. Hence, Tanui’s parents are also farmers. 

Whenever the athlete is not running, he engages in farming like most of his family and neighbors. Paul takes great pride in doing what he does but is also humble enough not to forget his roots. 

Ever since he was a kid, he loved athletics and only watched athletes on TV. As a result, the runner was heavily influenced by them and dreamed of running like them one day. 

Education

Initially, Paul studied at Mau Primary School and later enrolled at Keroka Technical Training Insitute in 2006. 

The principal of the institute, Evans Bosire, was impressed by his skills and saw a lot of potential in Paul during his training period. After two years with Bosire, the runner qualified for the Kenyan National Team in 2008. 

Before that, he ran in local races, so he and his family were quite ecstatic when he received the opportunity to represent Kenya internationally.

At first, he did not qualify for the World Cross Country Championship, but he kept his head in the game and worked hard to sharpen his skills and speed. As a result, he was able to run at the Championship after finishing second in the 2009 Kenyan trials. 

The runner’s parents and siblings were on cloud nine, and his mother was pleased to see him be the first in the family to board a plane. Furthermore, Tanui was grateful as all his hard work had finally paid off. 

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