Benson Kipruto: The love of a country

Benson Kipruto has won multiple major marathons, but despite being one of Kenya’s most consistent and accomplished road runners, competing at the Olympic Games has so far eluded him.

After winning the Boston Marathon in 2021, the Chicago Marathon in 2022 and the Tokyo Marathon earlier this year, the 33-year-old has been named on Kenya’s provisional marathon squad for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. To wear the Kenyan vest on the biggest stage would mean everything to him.

Sharing insight into his lifestyle, ambitions and inspiration, Kipruto takes World Athletics Inside Track on a run at dusk through the tea plantations in Nandi County, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the beautiful environment in which he hones his craft:

“We feel at home here,” he says. “It’s really nice to stay together – the big athletes, as you say. But here, we are equal because we stay humble. Everyone stays humble here. We all train together, we all eat together, so we are like a family.

“Whenever I am in a race or whenever I am training, I get motivated by other athletes, even the young ones. We train together and we encourage each other.

“I’m inspired by the likes of Eliud Kipchoge. When he might retire – I hope not soon – I would like to follow his footsteps.

“Competing in the Olympics will mean a lot. If I qualify, I will do my best to represent my country. I would be privileged to represent my country for the first time. I love my country.”